Unexpected Love
by XxEdwards LullabyXx
Summary: Bella Swan moves to Forks Washington and she attends Forks High school where she feels alone and invisible. But, what happens when she starts to fall for one of the most popular guys in Forks High? Will he see Bella as something more? BXE All Human!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: Well, I'm kind of scared. This is my first Twilight fanfic. So, go easy on me please. As you may know, this is a human version so no Vamps or werewolves. I know, I know…boo.:(**** But, I will love you forever and ever if you leave me some reviews when you are finished. Ok, here it is…enjoy!! **

Unexpected Love

_Beep beep beep beep. _Sighing, I rolled over and turned off my rude alarm that seemed so eager to bring me out of my peaceful sleep. I went to bed early last night to get ready for my big day today but all's I did was toss and turn. And when it seemed like I finally fell asleep, the alarm from hell called to me to wake up.

I pushed my warm comfy covers off myself and groaned as I set my bare feet on my cold wooden floor of my bedroom. I yawned as I got up and walked to my closet to pick out something to wear. It really won't matter what I wear, it's not like I have anything to impress the students of Forks High.

I sighed again. _Forks High. _Today was my first day of school as a junior. I was so scared and nervous. I already new I probably wouldn't be a part of the popular group. No, I was never known as popular and there's no way I'm even "popular" material. There's only one word that would describe me, plain. Yep, I'm plain. I have brown hair, just like half of the population in the world along with brown eyes. I'm not tall like all those pretty super models, my height evens out at 5'4". My weights on the average slim size but I wouldn't call myself skinny. And my clothes, well, I don't own anything most popular girls would categorize as cute or stylish. They mostly just consist of jeans, sweat pants, t-shirts, hoodies, a few pares of shoes, and jackets.

I looked out my window and saw the light drizzle that stuck to the glass. _Especially _jackets. Because here in Forks Washington, it rains like no other place I've ever lived. Not once can I remember a sunny day here when I use to visit my father, Charlie, before I came here to live with him. I lived in Phoenix with my mom Renee, but I decided that I would be better off living with my father while she ran off to Florida with her new husband, Phil. And, I'm guessing I will probably be labeled as a shy, clumsy geek at my new school just as I was at my old school but at least there, I had people and friends to talk to.

Sighing once again, I grabbed a pair of jeans, a blue t-shirt, and some socks and then made my way to take a shower. I was hoping that the warm water would calm my nerves a bit, and it did. I hurried as I washed my hair and the smell of strawberries filtered through the room. I shut the shower off, got out, almost slipped and fell but I caught myself on a towel rack and got dressed. I blow-dried my plain normal brown hair that was about eight inches long from my shoulder and had very little volume but had enough to not look flat on my head.

I went back to my room when I was finished with the rest of my bathroom needs and put my shoes on. I grabbed my book bag and rushed down stairs to get a bowel of cereal. As I walked into the kitchen I saw Charlie sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in one hand and the paper in the other.

"Morning Dad." I said as I placed my bag on a chair and made my way over to the fridge to grab a carton of milk.

"Morning Bella. Ready for your first day of school?" he asked without looking up from his paper.

I walked over to the table with a bowl of Cheerios and sat. "Uh-yeah. I think so."

Charlie looked up then to see the expression of anxiety that I was trying to hide. Dang it, why couldn't he have just kept looking at his paper?

"Don't worry Bella, you're going to be fine. The school's really nice and the kids are really nice too."

"Thanks dad, I know. I think I will be ok." I said, trying to get away from talking about it. The more I did, the more my nerves would go haywire.

"I know you will." He smiled. "Well, I'm off. Try not to worry about it too much and have a nice day. I will see you when I get home." With that he stood up grabbed his gun holster that was hanging from around his chair, put his coffee mug in the sink and headed out of the kitchen.

Oh great. I forgot I will probably be known as Chief Swan's daughter here in this small town. They will all probably think of me as some goody two shoes that doesn't break rules. Just another thing to add to my worry list.

I heard the front door close and the sound of Charlie's cruiser pull out of the drive way.

I didn't really feel like finishing my cereal. It was getting closer to that time to leave and my stomach started to twist in knots. I got up dumped the rest of my cereal down the sink and washed my bowl and spoon along with Charlie's mug slowly to buy me some time.

When I was done I looked at the clock. _7:19am _it read. School started at 8:05am and if I left now I would be early since the school isn't far, it's just down the highway. Oh well, maybe I can look for my classes ahead of time and get a close parking spot. My decision made, I grabbed my backpack, put on my coat and grabbed my keys off the key rack and headed out the front door.

It wasn't raining yet, but there was a light drizzle, which probably meant rain would soon be on its way. I walked slowly over to my truck trying to not slip or fall in any of the puddles. As soon as I got in, I started the engine and turned the heater on letting it get nice and toasty in the cab and found a rock station that was close enough to my liking. When I was sure the truck was well warmed up, I put my seat belt on and headed off to Forks High.

It only took me about ten minutes to get there so when I looked at the clock in my truck, it only said _7:35am. _I found a close parking spot all right since the parking lot was almost empty.

After I parked I walked to the office to get my schedule. When I walked in I was immediately met with a wave of warmth that made me shiver from being out in the cold. I was almost contemplating on sitting in here until classes started. I walked up to the front desk where a red headed lady was sitting at typing away at her computer.

I cleared my throat. "Excuse me?"

"Yes dear?" The red headed lady asked as she looked up from her computer. I read her nametag and found out her name was Ms. Cope.

"Um, my name is Isabella Swan. I'm new here and I was…"

"Isabella Swan?" She asked interrupting me with a huge smile on here face. "It's nice to finally meet you young lady. I presume you want your schedule?" I just nodded my head at her too shocked to trust my voice. Why on earth had she been anxious to meet me?

She walked over to a file cabinet and came back with a little square white paper. "Here you go. If you have any problems with the schedule just come back here and let me know. Also, you need to have the back of this slip signed by your teachers and bring it back here to turn it in at the end of the day. Do you have any questions?" she asked still smiling.

"Um-no." was all I managed.

"Ok. Oh, I almost forgot. Would you like a map of the school to help find your classes?"

"Yes please." She handed me a yellow paper that had the whole campus mapped out on it.

"Ok Miss Swan, you're set. I hope you have a great day and welcome to Forks High."

I smiled and thanked her and headed out the door into the cold drizzly weather once again. I looked at the parking lot. It was almost getting full now. There were students walking around heading to the cafeteria for a late breakfast and some were just sitting at the benches that were shielded from the rain. I stood under the awning of the office and looked at my schedule and the map to figure out what and where my classes were.

**(Isabella Marie Swan) Forks High School **

_ID#: 189567 Grade: Junior (11__th__) _

_1__st__ Period__: English - Mr. Renaldo - Building#: 2 – Room#: 7_

_2__nd__ Period__: Algebra (D) – Ms. Black – Building#: 5 – Room#: 25_

_3__rd__ Period__: Health – Mr. Corner – Building #: 3 – Room#: 15_

_4__th__ Period__: Art (B) – Mr. Warner – Art Building - Room#: 3_

Lunch

_5__th__ period__: Biology- Mr. Banner – Building#: 4 – Room#: 20_

_6__th__ Period__: PE – Mrs. Stevens – Gym_

I sighed again today and realized it probably won't be the last. I looked back at the yellow map to find my first period. It looked easy enough to find even without the map. I looked at my watch and noticed there were only 5 more minutes left before the bell would ring. I looked up at the parking lot again and noticed it was completely full now. There were students already heading to their classes and some were hanging out by their cars waiting for the bell to ring. That's when I noticed a car that didn't seem to fit in at all. It was a shinny silver Volvo that looked way too expensive to be in a lot with cars like mine. I was relieved to see my truck wasn't the only poor looking car around.

I decided to head to class and nearly tipped over nothing at all but managed to keep myself up straight. I was hoping no one would notice but I was sadly mistaken when I heard a group of people laugh from behind me. I didn't bother to look at them. I just looked down at the ground letting my hair hide the blush that was creeping up on my face.

Great, I've not officially started yet but I've managed to be the laughing stock so far. I made my way through the hallways and found building number two. When I found my room I took a deep breath, opened the door, and headed inside.

Just as the door closed behind me, the bell sounded stating that it was now officially the beginning of my first day here.

I looked around the room and noticed that most eyes were on me. I immediately felt uneasy and more nervous than ever. I could hear my heart pounding through my ears as I started to walk down the middle isle to the front of the class where Mr. Renaldo was at writing something down on the board. I just stood there waiting for him to turn when I made it up there without managing to trip over anything. I could hear whispers behind my back and I knew my face was probably almost red as a strawberry.

Mr. Renaldo turned around and jumped slightly when he realized I was standing there. I wanted to laugh but I was way to nervous to make a single noise.

"Ah, you must be the new student." He said. I just nodded my head, again afraid to trust my voice, and handed him my schedule. He took it signed or I should say scribbled his signature on the back and handed it back to me.

"Class, I would like to introduce you to a new student. Isabella Swan."

"Bella, I prefer Bella." I managed to choke out.

"Oh, well Bella Swan. She came here from Phoenix High in Arizona. I trust you all will welcome her warmly to our small town."

I looked around the room again and noticed that everyone's eyes were on me this time. Some looked at me with curious eyes, a couple with awe in probably never seeing someone else who didn't come from this small town before, and some that looked like they were just bored.

"Ok, Bella, you can go take a seat next to Eric there in the back." He pointed at an empty seat next to a boy who was looking at my curiously and I presumed his name was Eric. With everyone's eyes still on me, I made my way back down the isle praying that I didn't trip over anything and when I almost made it without tripping, I knew it was too good to be true. I managed to get my left foot caught on someone's backpack strap and did one of the things I knew I was good at, I tripped. I heard stifled giggles come from all around me but I didn't look up at any of them. I just straightened out a little and continued my way to my desk.

I reached it and sat down. I took out my English book still not wanting to look at anyone. And just flipped through the pages slowly until I came across the right page. Then I took out my notebook and my pen and knew I had to look up at the board to see what Mr. Renaldo was writing.

I lifted my head but kept it down enough so Eric and the other student to my left couldn't see my red face. I noticed most of everyone's attention was back to Mr. Renaldo and his lesson. I relaxed a little and sat up straighter. I really hope the rest of my day goes by smoother than it has.

Soon, the class was over and I gathered up my things to head to my math class. I took out my schedule just to make sure which room and building it was in. Then I made my way through the crowded halls.

Math class went by smoothly. I didn't trip over anything and my teacher didn't call on me to answer any questions, which I was great full for. And my health and art class went well too even though I managed to knock over an easel just by walking by it in art.

I was getting a little scared though. Not in anyone of my classes did I have a single person talk to me. Not one "Hi" or even a welcome to their school. They all mostly just looked and that was about it. I got a few smiles here and there but I guess I have that geek label stamped on my forehead. So, I was heading to lunch, by myself and I guess I will probably be sitting by myself as well.

After I got my tray of food, I pulled my money from out of my pocket to pay the lunch lady. She looked a little stunned when she saw me but she smiled quickly and handed me my change. She probably didn't expect to see a new face in her lunch line.

I looked around at the tables and saw almost all of them were full but I managed to spot a table in the far left hand corner that was completely empty. As I made my way over there I noticed that several people were staring at me and whispering something to the people near them. This caused me to blush of course and took my concentration off of my walking which wasn't a good thing. I managed to trip over something I couldn't see and nearly dropped my tray. Thankfully, I gripped it tightly and the food just slid on the tray but didn't fall off. My clumsiness caused almost half the cafeteria to turn and look at me. This time most didn't bother to try and stifle their giggles, they just flat out laughed at me. My face felt like it was on fire as I walked quickly but carefully to my destination and sat down. Why? Why did I have to de so damn clumsy? Why couldn't I just have fallen and broke my neck? Then maybe I wouldn't have to go through the humiliation. Ha, that would be a funny news story and no doubt the news would spread around this town fast. I could just here it now. _New girl, Isabella Swan, died today in Forks High School's Cafeteria by managing to trip over absolutely nothing but broke her neck as she fell. Oh, what a tragedy! _I almost giggled out loud at my stupidity.

I noticed that the laughter and whispers stopped which probably meant that they realized that their entertainment for today isn't going to do anything embarrassing right now since she's not walking on her own klutzy two feet. Great, that's all I probably am for these people, entertainment. I'm new, nerdy, clumsy, and pathetic. The perfect combos for someone who was looking for a good laugh.

I sighed and opened my milk. I took this chance to also look around the cafeteria. Just like I'd thought, everyone was back to whatever it was they were doing before I managed to humiliate myself in front of them. It was like I didn't even exist and that little seen I caused never happened. I looked and evaluated everyone. So far, they all looked normal and plain just like me. Well then why were they treating me like an outcast? Because I can't manage to walk anywhere without tripping over something? Mhm, that was probably it.

I looked over some more students and noticed that a lot of them were looking at a table in the far right corner opposite of mine. When I saw the people sitting there, my jaw nearly dropped into my plate of pizza. They were beautiful. Perfect. Handsome. Stylish and something I knew I would never be, popular. There was a short girl with black spiky looking hair that complimented her facial features. She had Stunning green eyes and reminded me vaguely of a black-headed Tinkerbell. There was another girl that had to be one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. She had long blonde hair that went almost to her waist. Her eyes were an icy blue and she had a figure of a supermodel. There were also three guys at the table. One was huge and I immediately thought of the Terminator and what he would have looked like if he went to high school. He was handsome looking and looked like he would be a great quarterback. Ha, way state the obvious Bella, he has a Forks High football jacket on! One of the other guys was shorter than the other two, but he was extremely handsome with wild blonde hair on his head. His eyes were also blue and he seemed like a shy artsy type of person. The last guy caught my attention the most. God, he was gorgeous! His green eyes seemed like they could pierce into anything he looked at. His hair was an odd combination of a reddish brownish color almost making it sheer bronze. His face was absolutely perfect and looked like an angle had worked extra hard on this creature to make it look god like. His smile was perfect as well, and it made little tiny butterflies flutter in my stomach.

I sighed again though as I noticed that he too had a Forks High football jacket on. He was a jock, he was popular, and he was a jock. Jocks and nerds don't mix. It was like they were opposite sides of a magnet and when they were close to one another, they just get pushed further and further apart, never to be put together because they don't belong together.

I suddenly lost my appetite starring at these god and goddess like creatures. I watched, as people would walk up to their table to say hi or ask about this Friday's football game. They all smiled and laughed like there wasn't a care in there world, while I sat here, by myself looking at them from a distance. I knew I shouldn't let it bother me but once I caught sight of that bronzed hair green eyed boy, I knew I wanted to be everything he wanted. I wanted to be that girl who put that beautiful smile on his face and to cause that sparkle in his eyes, but I knew deep down that it would never happen, and the thought of that hurt.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that it took me a moment to realize that the bronze hair guy was starring at me curiously. Shoot. I have been discovered. I quickly looked down at my uneaten pizza and let my hair fall in front of my face so he didn't see the deep shade of red that was appearing on my cheeks. Why did I have to stare? Ugh – I'm so pathetic.

Deciding not to want to look at the beautiful people any longer and didn't want to do anything more embarrassing than I already have, I gathered up my things and got up from the table. I walked to the closest trashcan to dump my untouched food and headed for the door. I was still looking down hoping to avoid the gazes that I knew would fallow when I bumped into something hard and warm when I almost got to the door. I looked up and thought I was going to drop dead on the spot.

There stood my bronze hair angle starring at me with a smile on his face. Oh. My. God. Why? Why am I being punished so? Of all the students in this cafeteria I had to bump into _him. _I realized I probably looked like a fish out of water staring up at him so I decided to try and apologize. Oh, very good Bella. I bet that looked very attractive.

"Uh-um…. I-I'm So-rry." I managed to stutter out. As soon as the words came out of my mouth I looked down at my shoes to hide my face.

"That's alright." He said with a dazzling smile and the most velvet angelic voice I have ever heard. It made shivers run up my spine. I was looking at his legs, waiting for him to walk away but it seemed like he was waiting for me to say something else. Think Bella. Think! Oh-ask him his name! I looked up and opened my mouth to ask him when someone cut me off.

"Hey Edward! You coming or what man?" Someone called from the door. I looked up and noticed it was the terminator sized football player.

I looked back at the angel in front of me. He gave me one more of his perfect dazzling smiles and walked away and out the door with the other students that were at his table. I just stood there. My legs didn't seem to want to move. I was stunned beyond belief. So, my angel's name is Edward? That suits him. Edward. Edward. Edward. God, I could say that name over and over again. It just sounded so natural to me.

I was finally able to gain some control of my legs and decided to go find my next class, Biology.

I arrived just in time as the bell rang when the door closed behind me. I decided not to look at anyone, to just walk straight up to Mr. Banner and hand him my slip. I did this with my last couple of classes and I didn't trip. As soon as Mr. Banner saw me, he had a big smile on his face. Well, at least the teachers are happy to see me.

"Isabella Swan?" he asked. I nodded and handed him my schedule. He signed it and handed it back to me just like all my other teachers.

"Well, why don't you introduce yourself to the class Isabella?" What? I looked at him panicked. No. No. No and NO! None of my other teacher's made me do this! "Class, I would like to have your attention please." Nope, just keep on doing what you're doing everyone. Don't pay attention to him or ME. "We have a new student in the class and she would like to introduce herself to you." What? Ha! Like? I don't think so Mr.! I realized that everyone was waiting for me to speak. I knew if I looked up and saw everyone's faces, I would probably chicken out, run, or faint. Or, maybe a combination of all three so, I just kept my head partially down focusing on a red polka dotted backpack in the isle and began to fiddle with my hands.

"Uh-Hi. My name is Isabella Swan. But-uh, I prefer Bella. Um, I came her from Phoenix High, in Arizona. And-uh-yeah. That's it I guess." I really had no clue what to say.

"Well, welcome to the class Bella. You may go take a seat by Mr. Cullen and then we can begin today's lesson."

I just nodded my head and looked up to find the empty seat. I didn't bother to look to see whom this Mr. Cullen person was, I was just focused on getting to the empty seat next to him without a repeat of first period. I saw my destination and started to make my way down the isle when my book bag got stuck on the edge of a lab table. It pulled me back so quickly that I stumbled backward and landed hard on my butt. I just sat and waited for the laughter to begin and soon enough it started.

"Class, settle down." Mr. Banner said as he walked over to me and helped me up. "Are you okay Miss Swan?" I just nodded my head feeling like a bobble head since that's all I ever do. Node and node. I walked Embarrassingly to the empty seat that I was trying to get to in the first place. Everyone stopped laughing but I could feel their gazes were still on me, probably because they didn't want to miss the chance of seeing me fall again.

I sat down slowly on my stool and set my bag in my lap. I let my hair fall into its usual place hiding the public from seeing my face and the angry tears that started to fill my eyes and grabbed my Lab book and pen. I still kept my gaze down as I place everything in front of me and opened my book to take notes. That's when I heard his angelic voice again. Oh great, here come the shivers.

"Hey, Bella…. are you ok? You took a pretty nasty fall." I didn't look up at Edward, who I know knew was the person sitting next to me and who was going to be my lab partner. Edward Cullen. I couldn't look at him. I couldn't let him see the embarrassment that was on my face, my red tinged cheeks, and the angry tears that still threatened to fall. Not, trusting my voice I just nodded hoping that he would leave me be. Apparently he didn't see.

"Bella…?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper. God, this boy is going to drive me crazy!

"I-I-I I'm fine." I choked out. Still not looking at him, just at the board and writing down whatever Mr. Banner wrote, not even bothering to pay attention to what I was writing. How does Mr. Banner expect me to pay attention in this class? I can't with _him _sitting so close to me! I could still feel his eyes on me and it started to make me tremble. Why is he looking at me? I don't think I can handle sitting next to him for the whole school year. I would be so lost in my thoughts I will probably fail this class! Maybe I can have Ms. Cope switch me to a different class. She said if I had any problems with my schedule then just come to her. It's not like I don't like being here next to him, after all this is probably the closest I'm ever going to get to him. But, I can't think with him this close! I need air! When is this class going to end?

I looked up at the clock. We still hand about a half an hour left of class. Darn it. I took a deep breath trying to focus on what Mr. Banner was trying to show us with a slide. I was starting to get brave enough to lift my head completely but I pushed my hair to the side letting Edward only see a curtain of hair instead of my face. I thought I heard him sigh when I did that but I was so out of focus as it was a fly could have landed on my nose and I wouldn't have noticed.

I survived fifteen more minutes of class when I decided to peek at Edward through my hair. I couldn't tell if he was looking, probably not though, so I took the chance. When I looked a small gasp escaped my lips when I caught him staring at me. He seemed to actually blush and turn his attention back to the front of the room. This boy is so dam frustrating! Why does he keep looking at me? Guys like him aren't suppose to even give me a second glance, so why is he so keen on trying to see my face? I really need to get out of here!

I looked back up at the clock and it seemed that's all I did for the rest of the class. I saw the hand was only two minutes away from being the end of class so; I closed my books and put them in my bag. I looked up again - only one more minute. Perfect. I grabbed my pen put it in my bag and placed the strap over my shoulder. I could feel a couple of people stare at me, even Edward, but I didn't care, I just wanted out of there. I needed to breath! Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Yes! I was out of my seat and out the door right when the bell rang. I didn't care if people stared at me like I was crazy and I didn't even bother to listen to Mr. Banner as he was trying to explain something, probably homework but it didn't matter because I wasn't coming back to that class. I needed fresh air and I needed it now.

Once the cold rainy air hit my face I took a deep breath and walked off to the Gym for P.E. I immediately started to feel better since I was away from Edward. I could finally think. I felt just like I had in the cafeteria. We were two separate magnets and his force was pushing me away and something in my head was screaming at me that we are total opposites and not even a friendship could probably work between us. That's how much different we are from each other and the less I see of Edward, the more I will probably realize how silly I'm acting and to just drop this silly little crush. It would all end with me being hurt anyway.

I found that my feet walked me straight into the locker room and into the Gym teacher's office. I was so shocked I hadn't even realized I got that far. I handed her my slip and she said that I could sit out for the day since I was new, thank god because they were starting to play volleyball today and I really didn't feel like waking anyone in the head with the ball.

After P.E. was over I headed to the front office to turn in my slip and talk to Ms. Cope about my biology class.

Once again, I was met with a wave of warmth as I walked in the office. I made my way up to the front desk where Ms. Cope was talking to someone on the phone. When she saw me she immediately told the other person she had to go and hung up the phone.

"Good Afternoon Bella. How was your first day here? I hope it was to your liking? Did you find everything ok?" she rattled on. Jeez. What's with all the questions? She sounds like my mother.

"Hi Ms. Cope. My day went well. I do like it here, although it's a little smaller than my old high school but that made everything easy to find. But, I do have a problem with my schedule though."

"Oh, I'm so glad to hear that dear. A problem? What kind of problem?"

"Um, I was wondering if I could change the time for my biology class?" I heard the office door open and felt the cool air hit my back. And heard footsteps as they walked and stopped right behind me but I didn't bother to turn around.

"Well, what's the matter with the biology class? Do you have a problem with…" she trailed off because she didn't know who my teacher was.

"What? Oh no…I don't have a problem with Mr. Banner. No, it's just. I would really like to have it at a different time if that's possible."

"Well dear, I'm sorry to say that most of the other biology classes in your grade are already filled, so there's no room. And, since you don't have a problem with Mr. Banner then I can't see why you would want to change it."

"Can't you just switch my classes?" I asked but I knew it was no hope. I was stuck in this biology class with a boy who will probably make me fail. Oh well, at least next year I can retake it without him being a distraction.

"I'm sorry dear. Maybe this problem needs to be discussed between you and your teacher."

I sighed and handed her my slip to turn it. She took it and placed it in my file.

"Is there anything else you needed Bella?"

"No, thank you for your help." Psh! What help?

"No problem Bella, have a great day!" she said with a cheery smile.

Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick. This woman is full of too much cheer. I turned around and almost forgot that there was someone standing behind me waiting to talk to Ms. Cope and when I looked up I gasped. Oh. Great.

There was Edward Cullen standing there staring at me. He didn't have that perfect smile on his face. No, it was the total opposite. His perfect lips were bent into a frown and his green eyes held an emotion I couldn't quiet read.

"Ah, Mr. Cullen…. what a pleasant surprise." Yes, saved by the cheery woman! With that I walked around him and headed for the door.

As soon as my feet touched the pavement of the parking lot, I took off and ran for my truck. I ignored the glances of people around me like I normally do, and tried to focus on getting out of there without falling or getting run over by a car. I was thankful that I didn't park far and once I saw my massive red Chevy pick up truck, I sighed for the umpteenth time today, but this was finally a content sigh.

I got in, started the engine and didn't even bother to let it warm up. I put it in reverse and as I was backing out I noticed that Edward was just now walking out of the office looking in my direction with the same facial expression that he had when we were inside. I put the truck in drive and I got out of there without looking back.

**AN: Tah Dah! Well, watcha think? I know some of the names and stuff is different from the book because I didn't want everything to be **_**exactly**_** the same. I hope you all liked it! Please, please, please leave me some reviews! I really want to know your opinions and if you have any suggestions for the next chapter I would love to hear them :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I'm sorry it took me a while to get the second chapter up! I got a new job so I've been busy working and when ever I had free time I was sooooo tired :/ But, I did it! So, I won't keep you from it any longer. Please tell me what you think! Do you think it's going in a good direction? Grr…ok, sorry I'm just worried about it, but here it is! ENJOY!! :D**

Chapter:2

I pulled up in front of the house after I speed my way as fast as my truck would let me from the Forks High parking lot. I put the truck in park and turned the engine off but I sat there thinking to myself instead of getting out right away.

Why? Why does he have to torture me so? The look on his face when I turned around was one I definitely was not expecting to see from him. Why did he look so upset? It's not like he should care whether or not I want to be in his class. He shouldn't even care if I didn't want to be in the same school as him because guys like him don't care about girls like me! Girls that are geeky, nerdy, quiet, plain, boring, clumsy, shy, non-attractive, and not interesting at all never capture the eye of someone like Edward. He's just so handsome, mysterious, amazing, smart, attractive, athletic - he's everything put into one, he's perfect. And that's the total opposite of me.

My thoughts were interrupted as I shivered slightly. I felt the temperature in my truck was a lot lower than before I turned the engine off – hence turning the heater off as well. I also realized that it was poring rain outside making it hard to see out the windows.

Oh great. I should try to make a run for it before I freeze to death out here. I put my hood on and made sure my coat was zipped up tightly. Then, I grabbed my book bag and keys before I opened the door. I slammed it shut after I jumped out and then I ran towards the front porch. I was almost to the front step when I managed to slip in a puddle, which caused me to fall backwards, landing into the same puddle that put me in this position. Great. Just great. I sighed heavily as I picked myself up from the cold wet ground and winced slightly when I felt a sharp pain go through my ankle. It wasn't too bad though. I knew it wasn't broken and probably wasn't even sprained but I walked the rest of the way slowly anyway, especially not wanting to risk another chance of falling into another puddle and soaking my other half.

I made it inside without another fall or trip but I was almost soaked from head to toe. I took my coat off and hung it on the coat rack by the front door. Then I went up stairs to change into some dry warm cloths. As I got dressed and put my hair up into a ponytail, I still couldn't help but think about Edward.

It still bothered me and I could not help but feel guilt when I was a possibility of being the one to cause the frown that was on his face in the office and when he walked out into the parking lot. What else would have made him so upset? He was looking at me accusingly like I was the reason. And when he stared after me when I drove out the parking lot, gave me another clue to my assumption. But, maybe it has nothing to do with me at all. Maybe he was having a family crisis or something and had to go talk to Ms. Cope about it. Or, maybe something in one of his other classes upset him. God, the possibilities were endless.

I walked down stairs in a pair of blue sweat pants and a gray long sleeve shirt and made my way to the kitchen to start on dinner. Charlie wasn't much of a cook and he didn't even really have time to cook. So, I did it all, but on some occasions he would make me breakfast.

I looked around the kitchen to come up with an idea of something to cook when I decided to bake a roast with some carrots and potatoes in the oven. As I was cutting the potatoes and carrots the phone rang startling me half to death as my thoughts were still on the complicated angel that both frustrated and fascinated me. When I jumped I managed to slice a bit of my finger, but thankfully it wasn't deep enough to cause a lot of blood to come out of the cut. That would have been a very bad out come if a lot had.

I walked over to the phone holding a paper towel to my finger and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Bella honey, what took you so long to answer?" I sighed as I recognized the worried voice on the other end to belong to Renee.

"Um – I was busy getting dinner ready and was a little distracted. So, what's up?" I didn't want to tell her about the Knife incident. If I had, even though it was just a tiny cut, she would try to pursue me into coming back to live with her since Charlie didn't seem to have enough time to take care of me.

"Oh, ok. Well, I was just calling to see how things were coming a long and how did you're first day of school go?" Oh great. Here come the questions. "Did you like it? How are the students? Have you met any new friends yet? How are your classes? Are your teachers nice?" Oh god, I thought the questions would never end!

"Mom" I groaned.

"Well, I just want to know. I miss you and I don't get to see you much now do I? I can't help but get worried about you when you're so far away from me." She said this with a sad tone and I immediately felt guilty.

"I know mom. Sorry, I'm just kind of tired. But, my day went well." I knew I couldn't tell her the truth so I just told her what I knew she wanted to hear. "My classes are great and so are my teachers. The kids here are all really nice and seemed to welcome me immediately. I met a few people today and I even sat with them during lunch."

She seemed very pleased by my answer. "That's great Bella. I'm so proud of you for being so strong through all of this. I'm glad that you like your new school too. It puts a lot of worry off of my mind to know that you like it there. But, I do miss you Bella."

"I miss you too mom." I was starting to get a little choked up. Hearing her voice again was starting to make me feel a little home sick.

"I know you do." She said and I could tell she was smiling while she said it. "Well, honey. I think I better get going. Phil should be home any minute now and he's going to take me out to dinner so I should go finish getting ready. I love you Bella. And remember, if you ever change your mind and you want to come home, call me and I will be there to get you in a heartbeat ok? Don't you worry about what Phil will think, you are my daughter and you are my number one priority."

"Ok mom. I love you too and I will talk to you soon." I didn't want her to talk about Phil any longer.

"Ok, tell Charlie I said hi."

"Alright, will do. Bye mom"

"Bye honey."

I hung the phone up and walked back over to the counter to finish cutting the vegetables and getting the rest ready to cook. I needed to distract myself from the aching feeling I was beginning to get in my chest and the lump in my throat.

Hearing my mother's voice again made me realize how much I miss her and how I whished she was here with me so I could really tell her how my Forks High experience felt. I could imagine her being sympathetic, caring, soothing, and comforting in her motherly way while I had my head in her lap as she stroked my hair softly as she told me everything was going to be ok. The thought of it all made the tears that I had been trying to hold back, come running down my cheeks soaking them as if a dam broke.

I put everything into the oven and washed my dishes. My tears and sadness still didn't cease as I walked up the stairs and into my room. I curled up into a little ball on my bed and cried harder. I thought about what I would have really told my mother.

My Forks High experience was one of the worst in my life. I've never felt so alone or so alienated in my whole life, than I did when I stepped foot on that campus. I don't know what I did wrong to these kids here to make me feel like I'm the number one reject of the school and if anyone were caught talking to me, they would be automatically labeled as one as well, so no one bothered to try and befriend me. And the situation with Edward didn't help either. I still felt that ache when I thought about him. It was almost like the ache that you get when you fall in love with some movie star but you know that there's no way in hell you two would ever end up together since you were practically in two different worlds and that feeling hurt. There was no way he was upset over me trying to change my biology class. He wouldn't care. Why would he? I was beginning to think that my decision to move here was a very bad idea.

As my thoughts kept running through my head and my tears still did not cease to fall, I began to slip into a comforting darkness.

I was startled awake by the sound of thunder and I looked up to see what time it was, _5:49pm._ Charlie should be getting home soon. I sat up on my bed and stretched out some of my cramped muscles. I felt a little better after my balling session. I was still a little depressed about not being able to tell my mom everything.

I made my way down stairs and the aroma of roast and potatoes made its way to me welcomingly. My stomached began to growl as I realized how hungry I really was, probably from practically skipping both breakfast and lunch. I checked the roast in the oven and saw that it was almost done. I set the table and was just about to check on the roast one more time when I heard Charlie's cruiser pull into the driveway. I sighed as I prepared myself. I knew he would probably ask the same questions, as mom and I knew I had to lie again.

Soon enough, he came walking into the kitchen and put his keys on the key rack.

"Hey Bells. Something sure smells good in here. What's for dinner?" He asked with a smile. Ok, good. Maybe he won't ask me anything about school.

"I'm making a roast and you're just in time too because I think it's done." I smiled

"That sounds good. I'm going to go put some stuff away and get cleaned up."

"Alright, everything should be set by the time you get back."

And, everything was. When Charlie came back into the kitchen, I had the roast out of the oven and sliced it up. I set the plate of roast on the table along with the baked potatoes and carrots in a bowl. Charlie took his seat in his normal chair and began to dig in. I sat down and joined him after I grabbed two glasses of milk for the both of us.

"This is really good Bells. I guess I'm lucky that you took your cooking abilities from your mother and not me." I laughed at that. I really could not imagine how Charlie survived off of fried eggs and bacon after mom and I left. I took a bite to make sure he wasn't joking and was pleased when I found it to be quiet delicious myself.

"Thank you. I thought I would try something new this time. I'm glad you like it, now I know I can make it more often." "Oh, and speaking of mom, she called today. She told me to tell you she said hi."

"Oh really. What did she want?" he asked as he was already grabbing seconds.

"Oh, just to see how I was doing." I said, but I didn't mention her asking me about school. I really hope he will forget.

"Well, that's good."

There was silence as we both enjoyed eating our meal. I surprised myself by grabbing seconds. I must be really hungry. But, just when I thought I was cleared and Charlie was not going to bother me with any questions about school, he pushed his plate away and asked me the dreadful question I was hoping to avoid.

"So, how was your first day of school?" I almost cringed when the question came out of his mouth but I composed myself before I did.

"It, was – good. I met some nice people and the schools nice. I like my classes and teacher's as well." I finished with a fake smile on my face and hoping he wouldn't press for any more information. Thankfully, he didn't.

"That's great Bella. I'm glad you like it there. I knew you would. Well, I'm going to go catch up on the rest of tonight's game. Awesome job on dinner Bells." He walked over and put his dishes in the sink and then headed into the living room. I didn't drop the fake smile until I heard the TV turn on and the sound of tonight's baseball game. I walked over to the sink and sighed as I began to do the dishes.

After I was done I turned the kitchen light off and decided I should start on a little homework even though I didn't have anything due tomorrow. I walked into the living room and said goodnight to Charlie, then I made my way upstairs to my room. I worked on homework till I heard Charlie come up the stairs and go into his bedroom to go to bed. I sighed as I put all my stuff away and grabbed my Pajama's and headed to the bathroom to change and brush my teeth.

I got into my nicely warm and comfy bed. I was so tired that I didn't think about much. Mostly just about how tomorrow is going to go, and if I will get another chance to speak to Edward Cullen. You never know, maybe I might bump into him again or maybe we will have something in biology to work on together. I sighed again before I let the darkness engulf me, yep – tomorrow will probably be just as bad as today.

I groaned and pulled my pillow over my head as the evil alarm clock from hell called to me, yet again. I still hadn't slept much and my nerves were still a wreck. All's I wanted to do was curl up into a little ball under my warm covers and never come out.

I had a terrible dream when I did finally fell asleep. It was about school of course. I was in the cafeteria and I managed to slip on something, causing me to fall flat on my but. My tray of food flew from my hands and landed on me. I had food everywhere but what really was embarrassing was everyone who laughed at me. They all stared and pointed at me. Some even called me a freak. Then, that's when I noticed Edward. He was laughing at me so hard that he had tears in his eyes. Just like the others he pointed at me as he laughed. I knew he thought I was some geeky girl, a freak. I felt tears begin to fall down my cheeks as I stared up at the faces of all the laughing students, including the one that hurt me the most. Then – I woke up. I never had been so relieved to wake up from a dream.

I heard the evil alarm clock beeping mockingly at me again and realized I better get up or else I would be late.

After I hurriedly got ready, I headed down stairs expecting to see Charlie in the kitchen but when I got there he was nowhere to be found. I looked at the key rack and saw that his keys were gone so he must have already left. Well, what time is it? I couldn't have taken that long. I looked at the clock on the microwave and it read _7:53am. _Oh crap! I'm going to be late! I hadn't even realized it was that late and I even got ready in a hurry.

I quickly grabbed a breakfast bar from the cupboard and then grabbed my keys and book bag as I headed to the front door. I shrugged on my coat and quickly opened the door and locked it on my way out. I ran to my truck and didn't care if I slipped. I got in my truck and started it. I didn't even bother with the radio or heater. I pulled out and headed as fast as I could to school and ate my breakfast bar on the way.

I pulled into the parking lot and tried hard to push the dreadful feelings I was beginning to have away. I looked at the clock when I finally parked. _8:01am._ Wow! Had I really made it here that fast? Oh well, no time to mull it over. I grabbed my backpack and headed as fast as I could in the drizzly rain to my English class. I noticed several students were still in the halls, which calmed my nerves a bit. Unfortunately, the bell rang before I made it to class. When I reached the door I took one deep breath and then turned the handle. God, please let this day go a lot smoother I prayed, as I opened the door and stepped inside.

I sighed in relief when I noticed that Mr. Renaldo was not even in the classroom yet. But, the relief feeling quickly began to fade as I realized people were still staring at me as I headed to my seat. God, don't these people have anything better to do than look at me like I'm some kind of freak show? They are probably looking to see if I was going to fall flat on my face or something. I mean, come on people. I may be hopeless but I'm not that hopeless. At least, I don't think. Ah, who am I kidding? I am hopeless.

After hanging my jacket up on the many hooks that adorned the wall by the door, I plopped down into my seat and began to take out my notebook and English book when I felt someone's stare coming from my left. I turned to look slowly and saw a girl with curly dark brown hair that went up to her shoulders. She had a very petite frame and her hazel eyes were staring right at me. When she realized I saw her looking at me, she kind of blushed and a small smile crept on her lips. I didn't know what to do, so I just smiled back hoping that this girl wasn't smiling because she noticed something funny about me like maybe I had my shirt inside out or I had something on my face. Then she did something that absolutely shocked me, she did the one thing that not one student in this school, has ever done before…she talked to me.

"Hello. My name is Elizabeth, Elizabeth Perkins. But, you may call me Eli if you'd like." She said with a smile and stuck her hand out for me to shake. I was so shocked that I just stared at her and her hand with wide eyes. Her smile started to fade and I realized I really should do something.

"Hi. My name is Isabella Swan, but I prefer Bella." I said smiling at her and taking her hand in mine to shake. When I finally reacted, her smile was back and seemed to be contagious as I kept smiling as well.

"It's nice to meet you Bella. So, I hear you came from Arizona? You probably miss the weather there don't you? I bet it's hard getting use to this weather." She said, still smiling. I was beginning to like this girl already.

"It's nice to meet you too Eli. And yes, I lived in Phoenix. I really miss wearing shorts and flip-flops. So to answer your question, yes, I miss the weather. But, I use to come here during the summer a lot to visit my dad so I knew what I was getting myself into."

She giggled at my statement. "Yeah, I know what you mean! I use to live in Southern California so I know the feeling about missing shorts and flip-flops. I moved here two years ago with my parents and twin brother. My dad works for a company that got stationed out here and when I heard that Forks was a small town, I couldn't wait to move here. I lived in Los Angeles so the idea about living in a small town was kind of exciting. But loath and behold, here I am now dying to move back to Cali!" She said the last part dramatically to give her story more effect and I had to laugh. Eli was absolutely hilarious.

Just then the classroom door opened and a teacher I've never seen before walked to the front of the room. He looked us over once to see if everyone was paying attention to him. When he saw that everyone was, he cleared his throat.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Mr. Callahan. I will be looking over your class today since your teacher Mr. Renaldo, is in the middle of tending to a family emergency. And since he left me with no lesson plans for today, you may use this time to catch up on any missed assignments or homework. Use this time wisely and I expect everyone to be working on something." With that said, he walked over to Mr. Renaldo's desk, sat down and began to read a book. Everyone around us immediately began to chatter but no one bothered to "work" on anything.

"So, what about you Bella? Why did you move to the depressing town of Forks when you could be soaking up the desert sunshine in Phoenix?" Eli asked as she started up our conversation again. Still smiling might I add.

"Well, my mom got re-married back in February. Her new husband has a job where he moves around a lot and he got a job offer in Jacksonville Florida. My mom was going to tell him to refuse and see if we could wait until I was finished with high school. But, I could tell my mom really wanted to go. She's one of those types that love to travel so Phil was basically her match made in heaven. I really didn't want to come in between what she wanted so, I decided to come here and live with my father."

I told her half of the story since I didn't feel comfortable talking about it. I could tell that she seemed to notice that there was more to it, but I was glad that she didn't press anything else out of me.

"So, how do you like it here at Forks High? I bet it's nothing compared to your old school."

"Uh –" Should I tell her the truth, that I absolutely hate it here? Should I warn her that she's talking to the school freak? And should I tell her that no one else here in this entire school has bothered to make conversation with me other than her? No. I don't want to scare her away. She seems really nice and I hope we can keep talking. But, why wasn't she here yesterday? I'm sure I would have seen her before.

"Uh – well, it's alright. People here seem nice and it's quiet small, which is kind of a good thing I guess." I tried my hardest to come up with a positive thing to say about this school but that was all I could manage. I could tell Eli saw right through my lie because of the look on her face. It was like she was trying her hardest not to laugh and soon she couldn't hold it in any longer. She burst into fits of laughter and soon I was joining her finding it to be quiet contagious.

"Your kidding right? It's all right if you don't like the school. I've been coming here for two years now and I haven't liked it here since my first day. It's not as horrible as it was when I first started though. I think you start to get use to it. But, people know everything about everyone in this school. One secret can be spread through out this whole school within 3 minutes! That's how small it is here!" I laughed again. I was beginning to really like Eli. She had this calming effect on me and it felt very comforting. She reminded me a lot of my best friend in Phoenix.

"Well, I guess you're right. Yesterday, was absolutely horrible" I looked around to make sure no one was trying to eves drop on our conversation and when I saw that everyone was occupied with something, I continued. "Everyone kept staring at me like I was some kind of exhibit at the zoo. At least today seemed a little less awkward."

"Ha, I know what you mean. Soon, they will get over it and they will see that you are not some alien from another planet; just a different state. Then they will treat you like normal. I don't know what it is with people in small towns, but that's how it was my first day and once it all started to die down, that's when everyone started talking to me. The worst, was the questions! Since, I live in Los Angeles, they kept asking if I knew any movie stars or if I've ever been in a movie myself."

"Are you serious? Hmm, I'm kind of hoping everyone will just forget and I can go on living in my little bubble. Speaking of first days, were you here yesterday? I'm sure I would have remembered you sitting there yesterday, but I don't."

"Yeah, take the silence from them and enjoy it while you can! But, as for yesterday, no I wasn't here. I had to take care of some stuff for my mom since she's sick. But, I'm sure I would have talked to you yesterday if I were here. Trust me, I know what's it's like to be the "alien" to these people. Hey, would you like me to introduce you to some of my friends? Trust me, they are really nice. Maybe we could meat up for lunch?"

Wow, she was actually asking me to have lunch with her? "Um – sure. That sounds cool." Eli was just about to say something when the sound of the bell cut her off. Holy crow! Have we really been talking for this whole period? Even Eli looked a bit surprised.

"Wow, this period went by fast," She said as we began to gather our things. "Hey, what classes do you have next?

"I have math, health, and art."

"Cool! I have you for art!" She said excitedly and then gave me a high five. By this time we were shrugging on our coats and heading out the door into the rainy weather. "What classes do you have after lunch?"

"Biology and then P.E." Her face lit up with another bright smile.

"Alright two classes, I have you in P.E. too!"

"That's cool. Where's your next class?" I asked as we were already at my building. I was going to have to depart from my newfound friend.

"Building 6. I have Spanish." She said with a yucky look on her face that made me laugh.

"Well, I guess I will see you in art then? Here's my class," I said as we were now at classroom, number twenty-five. I was dreading going in. It was only day two and Ms. Black was hinting about some surprise test she was going to give sometime this week. I hope it isn't today!

"Yep! I will see you in art Bella!" she said and waved as she walked off to her building. I can't believe that I found a friend. I was beginning to feel like all hope was lost for me when I started here but now, I'm slowly, well very slowly, starting to feel like I belong. I walked into the class and looked at the board and groaned. Crap! Pop quiz today.

I looked down at my pop quiz from math, which was now graded, for the billionth time. I couldn't believe I got an A! Wow, I bet Renee can't wait to hear about this. I do really well in all my other classes but whenever it comes to math, well any math with both numbers and letters in it; my mind immediately draws a blank. It's like it shuts down as soon as I lay my eyes on a math problem but today, I couldn't believe I actually understood what was on the quiz.

"Bella!" My head snapped up in the direction of where my name was being called and I saw Eli making her way towards me through the crowded hall.

"Hey Eli." I said when she finally reached me.

"Ready for some art with kooky Mr. Warner?" She asked with a giggle. Everyone called him kooky because he acted like a strange version of a weird hippy. When he wasn't teaching, he would walk around and have a far away look on his face like he was off in his own little La La Land. Everyone thinks he's fried too many brain cells from sniffing too much paint.

"I guess so. Don't we start using charcoal today?" I have already used charcoal in my art class back in Phoenix but everything here seems to be a few steps behind.

"Yep. We are going to learn how to shade with it I think." She said as we began to walk to the art building. "What's that you got there in your hands?"

"This? Oh, it's my pop quiz from my math class. I got an A." I blushed.

"An A? Congrats!"

"Thanks. I can't believe I got an A. I'm usually in the C or D or sometimes lower category when it comes to math."

"Ha! I know what you mean. But, it's so much easier to learn here since the class sizes are so small; they go at a slower pace."

"Yeah, I've noticed that. They are a few paces behind in all my subjects here. I've already learned most of it in my sophomore year in Phoenix."

"Well, here we are." Eli said. I hadn't even noticed we made it to the art building. As I was about to walk in the building after Eli, I felt a pair of eyes staring at my back. I turned around and was caught in a piercing gaze of emerald green. There standing a few yards from me with a group of popular students, most football players and probably cheerleaders, was the one person I was hoping to avoid most of the day; Edward Cullen. He just stood there leaning up against the wall not talking to the people around him, his hands in the pockets of his football jacket, and his eyes were boring into mine. His expression was unreadable since he kept his perfect angelic face in a calm mask. At least he isn't frowning anymore.

"Bella…you coming?" I broke my gaze from the beautiful angel in front of me and walked inside the rest of the way. Eli was standing there waiting for me and then we went to go find a couple of seats.

"So…what were you looking at so intently?" She asked with a playful smile on her face.

"Uh – nothing. I – I was just – just spacing out for a moment I guess." I didn't want to tell her about Edward. She would probably laugh and make my assumptions of us not belonging together even more true.

"Oh. Well, you must have been thinking about something pretty hard." I could tell she new I was lying

We found a couple of easels and sat next to each other. The bell rang but Mr. Warner, I mean Kooky Mr. Warner, wasn't there yet. He was usually about fifteen minutes late so most students don't even bother to show up to his class on time.

"So, have you talked to a lot of the other students here?" Eli asked as we both began to set up our work areas.

"No. Not really." I said as I put a fresh piece of paper on my easel.

"Oh. Have you talked to Edward Cullen?" She asked looking at me with a knowing smile on her face. If I had something like water or food in my mouth as she said this, it would have flown right out of my mouth.

"What? Uh – Edward? Uh – Cullen? Uh – no, why would you ask me that?" I said as I looked away from her. I felt the heat begin to rise in my cheeks.

"Oh no reason. Well, you do know who Edward Cullen is right?"

"Um, yeah. Well, I don't know him personally, I just know who he is. He's also my lab partner is biology." I said, still not looking at her but finding that my fingernails seemed like the most interesting thing in the world at the moment.

"Well, let me tell you something about Edward. As you probably already know, he's probably the most popular student here at Forks High."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out yesterday." I said. Still not looking at her.

"Yes, Well. I know a lot about Edward more than most girls in this school." Well, that caught my attention. I looked up at her and saw that she was smiling. Oh God. She's his girlfriend! Oh, good going Bella! Befriend the girlfriend of the guy that you happen to be falling for and trying your hardest to forget about!

"Are – are you his girl – friend?" I choked out. She looked at me with wide eyes at first and then did something I wasn't expecting. She burst out into fits of laughter.

"His – laugh – girlfriend?" she asked me through her fits of giggles. Oh my, what's wrong with her? Is she going as Kooky as Kooky Mr. Warner? Had she sniffed too much paint too? All's I could manage was a nod.

"God No! Bella, the reason I know so much about him is because my brother, Brandon Perkins, is on the football team. He's like one of Edward's best friends. They've been friends since we've moved here. Our family treats Edward like he's one of ours so he's practically like another brother to me." She finally managed to say without laughing. Psh! Don't I feel like an idiot?

"Oh, ok." I said embarrassed. Eli was about to say something else when finally Mr. Warner made his way through the door. I looked up at the clock. He was fifteen minutes late, as usual. Eli noticed too and we both laughed as Mr. Warner explained our lesson for the day.

The rest of the period went by with me growing an even stronger hatred for charcoal by the minute. I have already used it in my art class back in phoenix and I absolutely despised it. It was so messy and I kept smudging and smearing it all over my paper. Plus, It was all over my hands and even somehow ended up on my jeans. Eli dropped the subject of Edward thankfully and decided to tell me the rest at lunch so we talked mostly about our favorite things and hobbies as we worked. I soon found out that we had a lot more in common than I thought.

When class was over, Eli and I cleaned up our workspace and put our finished papers in our portfolios. Even though I despised charcoal, my sketch and shading turned out better than I'd expected. After, we cleaned our messy selves and then headed out the door of the art building to head to lunch.

"God, I'm starving!" Eli said as she began to pile food on her tray. She grabbed two slices of pizza, a bowl of salad, a bowl of fruit salad, an apple, a cookie, and finally a soda. I looked at her tray and then looked back at her petite frame and then looked back at her tray and then looked back at her again. How on earth can she eat all that? Where does she put it? I looked down at my tray that contained a small bowel of chicken noodle soup, a roll, an apple, and a soda. Then I had to look at her again still not believing that such a tiny girl like her can eat so much and look the way she did.

Eli noticed me staring and probably even the look of shock on my face. She giggled as she handed the lunch lady her money.

"What?" She asked with that same knowing smile on her face she almost always wore.

"Are you seriously going to eat all that?" I asked as I finished paying for my lunch. Eli began to lead me towards the same table that I sat by myself at yesterday. She decided to hold off introducing me to her friends today since she knew all's they would do was stare and ask a bazillion questions. Well, at least I'm not going to be sitting at it alone today. Oh yay. And I didn't even trip this time! Probably because my mind was more focused on how this tiny girl in front of me can manage to eat as much as a – well as much as a – football player.

"Yep yep. Every single bite! I told you I was starving." She said as she took a seat next to me and I took a seat in the same one I was sitting in yesterday. I was still shocked. We both began to eat in silence for a while until Eli broke it.

"So, you want to know more about my brother's friend, Edward Cullen?" She asked smiling as she finished up her first piece of pizza and went for the second. I was still only halfway done with my soup.

"No." I lied. I really did want to learn as much as I could about him as possible. But, I knew I would be a hopeless wreck if I knew more about him than I should have.

"Oh? Hmmm. Well, that's funny because I'm pretty sure if I were to ask Edward if he wanted to know more about my new friend, Bella Swan, he would gladly want to hear what I would have to say about you."

My eyes bulged out of my head and I began to choke on the soda that was in my mouth. What? Why would she say something like that? Why was she teasing me?

"Are you alright?" She asked concerned.

"Yes, I – I'm fine. But wh – what do you mean? He wouldn't want to know anything about me. I probably don't even exist to him like I don't to half of these people in this school." I asked shakily.

"Well, lets just say, I know a lot about Edward, probably even more than he thinks that I do."

"Oh? And what would make you think that Edward would want to know more about me?" Ok, now I was really getting curios. Why would she say that Edward would want to know more about me? Me? Plain little Bella that would have probably walked around this school, invisible to everyone forever here, if Eli had not decided to befriend me.

"Because. I've never in my time here, seen Edward stare at a girl like the way he's staring at you right now." She said smiling and then looked away at another table.

What does she mean the way he's staring at me right – oh. I looked away from Eli and slowly turned my head in the direction she was looking. Sure enough. There was Edward Cullen sitting at the popular table. His eyes weren't on the people around him or the gorgeous, strawberry blonde who was sitting in front of him. No, his beautiful green eyes were on _me?_ As soon as he noticed me looking, he broke our eye contact and turned his head away looking at the untouched food that lied on his tray. I couldn't be quiet sure or not but I could have sworn I saw his cheeks start to turn to a rosey pink color. I blushed as usual and turned back to look at Eli with wide eyes. Her eyes were also wide but her mouth was stretched into a huge smile.

"See! I told you! He never looks at a girl that way. Never! Oh, I can't believe this! This is so exciting! And did you see him blush when he realized he was caught?" She said excitedly.

All this excitement and confusion was giving me a headache. I pushed my tray of food away and put my head down on my arm. I needed to think. This can't be good. Why was he staring at me? Does he not realize what he's doing to me? He's driving me completely crazy!

"Bella, are you alright?" Eli asked worriedly. I turned my head to look at her but kept my head on my arm, not lifting it up. I couldn't take that chance; I didn't want to get caught in another gaze from Edward. Those beautiful eyes of his made it hard enough to look away as it was.

"Yeah, I'm just – thinking."

"Oh, ok." She said and went back to finishing up her lunch.

I felt lost in my thoughts. I was so confused; it was so hard to find the ones that I wanted. My mind would not let me think clearly, I needed some fresh air to clear them. Just as I was about to lift my head I heard Eli let out a giggle.

"What?" I asked as I looked up at her from my spot on the table.

"Oh, nothing." She said, but I could tell she wanted to say more.

"What is it Eli? Tell me." She laughed as I said this.

"Oh Edwards looking at you again. Well, he has been ever since you put your head down and well, I think he's worried about you." She must have seen the look on my face because it made her laugh even harder.

"Why? And, how on earth can you tell?" I choked out. Why on earth would he be worried about _me?_

"I don't know why. Probably because you stopped eating and you have your head on the table. He might think your sick or something. And, I can tell because he's arguing with my brother. They both keep looking over here and – oh, here comes Brandon now."

I lifted my head up then to see Eli's twin brother making his way over to us. He was tall and had a muscular built but it wasn't too big of a built like the teen Terminator over there. He had hazel eyes just like Eli and the same dark brown hair, which was short and messy on top. He didn't look too happy as he made his way towards us but when he saw me look at him, his face kind of lit up and he gave me a warm smile. Wow, are all the popular guys here that perfect looking? Well, DUH Bella! That's why they're popular!

He didn't break eye contact with me until he reached our table. Then his warming smile dropped into a grin and he turned to Eli.

"Hey sis. Uh – I was just letting you know to tell mom I will probably be a little late after practice today."

"Oh. Ok Brandon, will do." She said smiling. She had the weirdest expression on her face as if she new something I didn't know. I looked back at Brandon who looked back at me and then his heart-warming smile was back on his face. Whoa. He better stop doing that!

"So, who's your new friend?" He asked but didn't turn away. He kept his eyes on mine.

"Her name is Isabella, well Bella, Swan. She moved here from Phoenix Arizona. Her first day was yesterday so we both missed her." She said. Then she turned to me. "Bella, this is my brother Brandon."

"Hi Bella, it's nice to meet you." He said and stuck his hand out. I took it shakily and his warm hand sent a shiver down my spine. Whoa, easy there Bella. Don't be falling for another popular guy. If you fall for two, your brain would go into overdrive from all the confusion and then they would probably have to send you to the loony bin. And, not to mention he is your new friends brother!

"Um – hi. It's nice to meet you too." I said and smiled at him. Hopefully he will leave now. He smiled even brighter and the let go of my hand. He then turned to Eli.

"Well, I will see you at home later." He then turned back to me. "And, I will see you around Bella. It was nice meeting you." And with that, he turned around and headed back to his table. I stared after him with a shocked look on my face. Another popular guy talked to me? Even touched me? What was going on here? I understood Brandon a little since I was now friends with his sister, but still. I could ruin his whole reputation if I even stood anywhere near him! I felt a pair of eyes on me again and I saw Edward sitting there staring at me, for the third time today! This time, he had a little smile on his face but when he saw me look at him, he again turned his attention to something else. Brandon made his way over to him just then and sat down next to him. They began to talk and every once and a while Edwards's eyes would flick up towards me.

"Sooo, whatcha think about my brother?" Eli asked from beside me. She was looking at me with a smile and had that same taunting look on her face.

"Um, he seems nice." I said and then looked down to stare at me hands.

"Yeah, he's a good guy. You would have seen him yesterday too, but he stayed home to help me out with the stuff I needed to do for my mom. Oh, and F.Y.I., his little trip over here just proves that Edward was worried about you."

I snapped my head up and met her eyes to see if she was serious and she seemed to be.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I think Edward sent him over here to see if you were ok, that's what they were arguing about. And, my brother never comes up to me just to tell me to tell mom that he'll be late. She doesn't even care if he is so he never bother's to tell her."

I really didn't know what to say. She seemed so sure that he was worried about me but the thought of him worrying about me made me feel uneasy. And the same questions came popping in my head searching for those lost answers. Why? Why on earth would god like, perfect than anyone I had ever seen in my life, cute, handsome, beautiful, Edward Cullen, be worrying about someone like me? Argh. My brain can't take it any more! My head felt like it was going to explode from all the questions and I began to feel a little light headed and dizzy. I needed air! Fresh air and I needed it NOW!

"Uh – Bella, you don't look so hot. Are you ok?" Eli asked worriedly.

"I – uh, I need some fresh air I think." And I stood up. I must have stood up too fast because I just saw a whirl of people and colors. But the very last thing I saw shocked me. It was Edward Cullen's beautiful face full of worry and concern as he looked at me and then, everything went completely black.

**AN: Yay, chapter two is finally done! So, what did you all think? Do you like the direction the story is going? Feel free to leave me some reviews please and let me know. Hopefully, I can get chapter 3 up a lot quicker. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight, all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: Hey everyone! First off, I want to thank all you wonderful reviewers who sent me the greatest reviews! You guys helped me out a lot and you kept me going. So, I tried my hardest to get this chapter up as fast as I could. I hope you all really like the story and if you have any suggestions, I would gladly like to hear them. All right – All right. I will stop blabbering and let you guys get to the story. Love ya!**

Chapter 3:

"Bella?" I kept hearing. At least that's what I thought I heard. It sounded so far away though. So far away from the darkness I was in. I didn't really want to leave this darkness it was kind of comforting. What's going on? Why am I like this? Why can't I open my eyes? My whole body felt like a weight. I tried to lift my left arm but nothing happened. I gave up. Oh – well. Maybe I can stay here a little longer.

"Bella? Bella, can you hear me?" And who is that? Can't they see I wan't to be here? Quit trying to pull me out of my dark place! I could still barely hear it but I could make out what they were saying. I started to hum to myself in my little dark place, hoping to drown out whoever was trying to get my attention. This really was peaceful. I kind of hope whoever was calling my name would stop.

Then, that's when I felt something cold on my face. It was so cold; it seemed to wake up the dead nerves through my body. Then I heard a loud buzzing sound in my ears. I started to feel light headed again and my stomach was turning. I groaned and moved a little trying to ease my discomfort and that's when I heard his voice. His angelic voice calling to me. Oh wow. He's even here in my little dark place?

"Bella? Bella, are you all right? Can you hear me?" The beautiful angelic voice full of worry asked me. My hearing and senses started to come back to me slowly. I still felt the cool dampness of something on my face and it felt like my body was laying on something hard but my head was on something soft. I realized all the buzzing sounds in my ears were of people talking around me. I heard what some were saying. Someone asked if they should call an ambulance. That's when my eyes shot open. An ambulance? Why would they need an ambulance?

When I opened my eyes I just saw blurry figures above me. Then, I remembered. I fainted! Oh my gosh, I fainted in the cafeteria!

"Bella? Are you ok?" I recognized that worried voice to be Eli's but I couldn't see her. Which one of these blurry figures was Eli? I stared and focused harder and finally my vision started to clear. I found the pair of hazel eyes I was looking for. Eli's face was upside down but I could tell it was full of worry. Why was her face upside down?

That's when I realized why my head was on something soft. Eli had my head in her lap and she was staring down at me waiting for me to respond. The second figure belonged to Mrs. Stewart, the school nurse. She was the one holding something cold and damp to my face. The third figure almost caused me to faint all over again. My eyes met piercing green ones and I focused on his face. He was on his knees leaning over me. His beautiful face was staring worriedly down at me.

"Bella? Can you talk Bella? We need to know if you are ok." He said with that soothing angelic voice that sent shivers down my spine. He put his hand to my face and held whatever the cold damp thing was while Mrs. Stewart got up and walked away. I tried to speak, I really did, but with Edward so close and touching my face, I was speechless. I heard someone talking and heard him or her tell someone that they needed an ambulance to come to Forks High.

I was still kind of in a daze both from fainting and from Edward being so close to me, looking so worried. But then realization hit me. Holy crow! He's sitting here with me, looking at me concerned and he's touching me? Edward freaking Cullen? And an ambulance is coming? Oh my god, I need to get out of here! I began to panic and sat up quickly. That's when the world began to spin. I squeezed my eyes shut. Oh great, here we go again.

"Whoa, It's ok Bella." I heard Eli say. "Take it easy you just fainted! You don't want to do it again do you?"

I felt someone's hand grab my shoulder and pull me back down to the warm, soft comfort of Eli's lap. Once it felt like the world stopped spinning, I chanced opening my eyes again.

"Bella, please answer me. We need to know if you are ok." Eli said. I could tell she was starting even more worried and I didn't want her to be.

"I- I'm. Fine." I choked out. My throat and mouth were so dry it felt like I haven't drank water for weeks!

"Ok. Well, an ambulance is on its way. We want to make sure that nothing serious is going on here. You really scared me Bella. One minute you were talking, and then you were white as a sheet! You stood up and I saw you wobble so I stood and that's when you collapsed. I caught you in time though so you didn't hit the ground."

"Th – thank you." Was all I could manage. My throat was still dry and it hurt to talk. Eli just stared back down at me and smiled slightly. The smile wasn't big and didn't reached her worried filled eyes.

Oh wow. She caught me? This little thing caught me? Well, no wonder. She must get her strength from all the food she eats. I suddenly found a newfound admiration for the girl that had my head resting in her lap. I don't think anyone except my mother ever seemed so worried about me.

But then, my thoughts turned to the other worried face that was still by my side staring at me. I looked in his eyes and his worry lessened as he smiled down at me. I was about to smile back when I heard a rush of voices and the sound of radios coming from behind us.

"Oh, the paramedics are here now Bella. I will get your things for you. I asked Ms. Cope if I could come with you to the hospital and she said it was alright." Eli said. She sat up slowly with me to make sure I didn't collapse back down on the ground probably. She got up and cleared the way for the paramedics, as did Edward. I gave him one last glance and I could tell by the look on his face that he didn't want to leave my side.

"Hello there Miss. My name is John and this is Marry. Can you tell us what happened?" John asked me as he squatted down next to me. Marry was on my other side with a red bulky bag and she began to dig through it.

"Uh – I was feeling kind of dizzy and light headed so I got up to go outside to get some fresh air. That's when I fainted I guess." I said as I watched Marry take my blood pressure. She said something to John that I didn't understand; it must have been medical talk because he wrote whatever it was down on his clipboard.

"Have you felt this way all day or did it just come on suddenly?" John asked as he continued to write some stuff down on his clipboard. I wondered why he wasn't asking for my name but I guess someone must have told him.

"Um – suddenly I guess." I said and looked back at Marry, who pulled out an I.V. Oh no! She's not putting that in me! Not uh! No Sir! I was going to get up but Marry grabbed me so I couldn't.

"Excuse me miss, but I need to do this. So, please hold still." She grabbed my hand and swabbed it with a wet cotton ball that probably had rubbing alcohol on it. Then, before I could pull my hand away, she jabbed the needle of the I.V right into my skin. I looked away; for fear that blood would start to come out.

"There, all done. Now that wasn't so bad was it?" Ha! That's easy for you to say. Let me jab a needle into your hand and then lets see if you don't think it's so bad then.

"Alright Miss, We need to get you on this back board and on the stretcher." John said as he put his clipboard down. My throat was a lot clearer so I was able to protest.

"Um – I really don't think all of this is necessary. I feel better now so can you please just take that thing out of my hand and let me go. Maybe I can have my father come pick me up but I really don't think I need to go to the hospital."

"I'm sorry, but we need to take you in. Teenage girls don't just faint out of nowhere for no reason. So, we need to take you to the hospital to figure out why you did. Your friend over there told us you were eating lunch so it's probably not lack of nutrition and you said it came on suddenly so this could be serious." John said as he and Marry both started to pick me up and place me on the backboard.

"Yeah Bella. It's ok. I will be there with you so you have nothing to worry about." Eli said smiling at me, though it wasn't her same enthusiastic smile. Well, at least I won't be alone I guess.

The two paramedics lifted the board and placed me gently on the stretcher. I lay down and waited for the dreadful ride to the hospital to start. I looked around at the people who were around me. I couldn't believe it when I saw practically the whole cafeteria over by our corner. I was surprised that none of them were laughing. They all actually seemed to be worried about the poor, hopeless geek.

The two paramedics began to roll me out of the cafeteria with Eli and Ms. Cope in tow. I chanced one last look over where I been lying and there stood Edward staring after me with the same worried expression that I saw when I woke up from my faint.

The ride to the hospital consisted of a ton of questions, poking, and prodding. I told them I have fainted before but that was when I was sick and didn't have enough fluids in me. I've never had any serious illness and was usually quite healthy. Well, except for the hospital visits due to my ability to be the clumsiest person in the world. I'm surprised I haven't killed myself yet.

When we got there they did a bunch of tests while Eli went out and waited in the waiting room. She followed us here instead of riding just in case Charlie couldn't make it so she could give me a ride home. When they were finally finished they left me in the ER to wait to be cleared by a doctor so I could go.

I lied there on the bed thinking about what happened. I couldn't believe it. I felt like I was in a dream and couldn't wake up from it. Had Edward really been there by my side? Had he really been that worried about _me? _I heard the worry and saw it on his face no doubt, but still. The question that kept popping in my head was _why?_ Why had he been at my side? Why was he so worried about me? Why would he even care? My thoughts were interrupted when I heard my name.

"Isabella! I came as soon as I could." Charlie said. He stood at the side of my bed and looked as worried as the others.

"I'm fine dad." I said. I was kind of hoping he didn't get the message so we wouldn't have to go through this. And, I hope he didn't tell Renee either. If so, I could imagine her getting on the next flight to Seattle to come and get me.

"What happened? No one really told me anything, just that you had been taken to the hospital and that it wasn't too serious."

"I just fainted at lunch. I don't know why, I just got dizzy and light headed. So, I stood up to go outside and get some fresh air, then that's when I collapsed." I really didn't feel like explaining this to him. I just wanted to get out of here and go home. It was like god heard my payers because just then a voice interrupted us.

"Hello there Miss Swan. My name is Dr. Cullen." Cullen? I looked at the smiling doctor closer expecting to see someone that resembled Edward but was shocked when I couldn't find a single similar feature between the two. Dr. Cullen looked too young to have a son that was seventeen. He was tall, handsome, with golden blonde hair that was slicked back and piercing sky blue eyes. He has to be a different Cullen. Whoa. I better stop looking at him; I was starting to feel light headed again.

"So, I hear you had a little fainting spell at school. Well I looked over your chart and tests and I have good news. I couldn't find anything that would seem to be the cause of why you fainted physically. I believe your faint spell was caused by a panic attack of some sort. Are you stressing a lot Bella?" He asked me.

"Uh – I guess so. I've been stressing about school and stuff." And you will not find out what that other "stuff" is. Nope nope.

"I thought so. I know coming to a new town could be hard. Especially when you have to attend a new school full of students you don't know, I imagine it would be very stressful. But, try to key down your stress level. When you find yourself starting to stress, try and do some breathing exercises and try to avert your mind. And when you feel another panic attack, try and do the same. Take deep breaths and focus your mind on something other than the object of your stress." Whoa. Stress, stress, stress. The word alone would make me stress.

"Uh okay. I will try – thank you Dr. Cullen." I started to sit up and did so slowly. I didn't want to faint again; I really did want to get out of there.

"No problem Bella. That's what I'm here for. Take care of yourself and if you have any more dizzy spells that you can't control, I want you to come see me immediately." He said and held his hand out to shake. I shook it and he held on to it to help me stand up. I was thankful for that because I knew I would probably have gotten up too fast and would have just fell back onto the bed.

"Alright. I can go now?" I asked, even though I knew he would say yes. I just didn't know what else to say. He was another guy that left me speechless. Jeez, what's with these guys here in Forks? Is it something in the water?

"Yes you may. And remember, take care of yourself and try not to stress as much Bella." He gave me a smile and then turned to my dad. "I don't think you have anything to worry about Charlie. Just make sure she takes good care of herself like I said and she should be fine. Oh, we have a couple of forms for you to sign before you go. They will be up at the front desk." He said and shook Charlie's hand.

"Thanks Doc." Charlie said. And with that, Dr. Cullen gave us one last smile and then moved on to another patient.

"You ready to go Bells?" Ready? I've been ready to go since before they even wheeled me into the front doors!

"Yeah, lets go. I need to find Eli." I said as I began to walk out into the hall and made my way to the front with Charlie by my side.

"Eli?"

"Yes, Eli. Well, Elizabeth. She's a new friend of mine. She followed us here just in case I needed a ride home."

"Oh, that was nice of her." Charlie said. We entered the waiting room area by the front desk and I saw Eli sitting in a chair reading a book from our English class.

"Why don't you go sit down Bella? I need to go sign and fill out your release papers."

I walked over to Eli who was still engrossed in her book; I was about 5 feet away from her when her head snapped up. She looked at me surprised at first and then that enthusiastic smile of hers was back and plastered on her face. She put the book down and jumped up and rushed toward me. She threw her arms around me and hugged me. I stood rigid at first before I hugged her back because I was so shocked. I wasn't expecting her to react this way.

"Oh, thank goodness you are alright! You've been in there for ages, I was about ready to go hunting for you if no one came out to tell me any news soon. I was starting to get worried." She pulled away from me and the same smile was still on her face. I smiled back at her. I can't believe how much I love this new friend of mine already. It felt like I'd known her for years, but I only met her today.

"I'm fine Eli. Thanks so much for staying here. You were probably bored out of your mind." I said as Eli led me over to the place where she was sitting and we took a seat.

"Well, not really. I was mostly reading and I received almost a hundred text messages. All of them were from people from school, seeing if you were ok. But, most of them were from Edward." She said this with a knowing smile on her face. Ok, that was starting to get annoying.

"Oh really? And Wha – " I was cut off by her cell phone which started to ring. Her ring tone was a song from one of my favorite bands, Paramore. When she answered it my eyes nearly bulged out of my head.

"Hey Edward."… "Yes, she is fine. She finally came out of the E.R. and gets to go home once her dad signs her release papers and stuff."…. "Well, I don't know yet, I haven't gotten the chance to ask her." …."Ok."…"Ok, I will."…."Alright! I said I would!"…."Ok, talk to you later."…."Yes, Edward I will."…."Bye." She hung up the phone and looked at me with that annoying smile. I knew she was enjoying this.

"See. I told you so." See, and I told you that she was enjoying this. "Oh, I better start asking you the questions before Edward calls me again when I don't get back to him with any answers. So, What did the doctors say? Nothing Serious is going on right? Did they find anything in the tests? They surely took long enough with you in there. How are you feeling now?"

I had to laugh. She said it all with such a rush like if she didn't ask me now, Edward would come busting through those doors to ask me himself. That would have been a sight to see. Though, it probably would have made me faint again.

"I feel fine now. Doctor Cullen couldn't find a thing wrong with me physically and the tests showed absolutely nothing so, I'm fine. He said it was just stress."

"Dr. Cullen? So you meet Edwards Dad? Cool, I bet Edward would get a kick out of it when I tell him." Edwards's dad? There's no way! They don't look anything a like. And he's way too young. Eli must have seen the look of shock on my face because she laughed and began to explain.

"Dr. Cullen, well, Carlisle, isn't Edwards biological father. He and his wife adopted Edward along with Alice and Emmett. His wife, Esme, couldn't have kids so they decided to adopt. They were going to adopt a baby but Carlisle came across Edward about 5 years ago, when Edward was twelve. His parents were in a bad car accident and Edward sat here in this hospital all by himself waiting for the news on his only family. Carlisle sat with him when he wasn't working on trying to save his parent's. They formed a sort of bond I guess you could say during the time they waited. His mom lasted about a day and then his father died the next. So, when the time came and social services came to take Edward and put him in a foster home, Carlisle could not let that happen to him. So, he talked to Esme and they both agreed to adopt Edward themselves."

Oh wow. I couldn't believe such a tragic event occurred in Edward's life. He must have been in so much pain, to lose the only family he had. And to go through it all by himself without another family member there with him must have been hard. I thank god that Carlisle was there for him. I couldn't imagine losing Renee or Charlie. And I definitely don't think I could survive loosing them both. Poor Edward. I had so many questions to ask Eli but I heard Charlie's voice call to me.

"Hey Bells, you ready to get out of here?"

"Uh – yeah, dad." I said. I was still in shock. "Oh, um. This is…." Eli cut me off as she could sense that I was still lost in thought.

"Hi Chief Swan. I'm Elizabeth Perkins, It's nice to meet you." She said as she got up and shook Charlie's hand.

"Oh, please call me Charlie. And it's nice to meet you too. Thank you so much for taking care of my Bells here." I stood up then and started to grab my stuff.

"Oh no problem Charlie! Please call me Eli, and I wasn't the only one who was worried about Bella here. Practically the whole school has been contacting me to see if she's alright."

"Really? Wow. You must have quite an impact on those students there Bells." He said with a laugh. I just smiled at him and laughed along. I was still in shock.

"Hey dad, can I meet you at the car? I have to talk to Eli about something."

"Alright. Here, let me take your stuff for you and I will be out by the cruiser." I handed him my book bag and he turned and left.

"I know you have about a bajillion questions to ask me but, I really need to get going. Plus, Edward will probably come hunt me down if I don't call him back about the good news. So, is it okay if I call you later?"

"Sure, that would be fine. Do you have a piece of paper so I can write my number down?" She ripped out a piece of paper from her notebook and gave it to me along with a pen. I wrote down my cell as well as the home phone and told her to call the house phone tonight.

"Alright. Oh, and Bella, don't worry about your truck. I will come by in the morning and give you a ride to school. Then you can just drive your truck home. Trust me, it will be fine in the parking lot over night." I let out a sigh of relief. I had almost completely forgot about my truck.

"Okay, thanks again Eli. I will give you directions to my house when you call me." We started to walk out the doors and into the parking lot. I saw Charlie's cruiser parked by the curb.

"No prob. Bella. I will talk to you later then?"

"Yep. Talk to –" I was cut off by her phone ringing for the second time today. She looked at the caller I.D. and then looked up at me and smiled.

"It's you know who. I better tell him every thing's okay. I will talk to you later." She said. She gave me a quick hug and then turned to walk in the direction of where her car was parked.

I walked over to the cruiser. I hated riding in this thing now that I was older. It caused too much attention. When I was little I remember I loved it. Charlie would blare the siren for me and would even let me talk to people through the radio.

"Ready Bells?" he asked when he saw me.

"Yep lets get out of here." I got in the cruiser and buckled up. Charlie started the car and headed towards the high way to go home. I looked at the clock, _5:01pm. _Wow, have I really been there that long? Maybe we should just order pizza for dinner, I really didn't feel like making anything. I told Charlie and he agreed. We rode the rest of the way home in a comfortable silence. It gave me the space I needed to think. I felt so sad and shocked. I still couldn't believe Edward had to go through loosing two of the most important people in his life.

When we arrived home, I called for a large pepperoni pizza to be delivered. While I waited, I went up stairs and decided to take a shower now. I hated the smells of hospitals and even though I knew it probably wasn't possible, I still smelt the smell on me. While I stood under the warm water, letting it sooth my stiff muscles, my mind began to wonder back to today's events.

I was still shocked that Edward was worried enough about me that he sat by my side calling to me to wake up when I fainted. I visualized his perfect angelic features masked in worry and concern. I couldn't believe that he kept texting and calling Eli while we were at the hospital just to make sure I was all right. Why would he be so worried about me? He doesn't even know me! Well, he does know that I'm a plain, shy, clumsy, geeky girl. Hello? What was going on in the beautiful bronze head of his? God, I wish I knew what was running through his mind. What did he really think of me?

I sighed and shut the water off. The pizza guy should be here any minute now. I got out and dressed in my Pajamas and went down stairs. Just as I walked into the kitchen I heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it. It's probably the pizza." Charlie said and he walked out of the kitchen to go pay for the pizzas. I was shocked when I saw that Charlie had the table set with plates and two classes of milk. Wow. He must either be worried enough about me that he doesn't think I could set a table, or he was just really hungry and couldn't wait to eat.

I walked over to the table and sat down. I was also getting really hungry and realized that today was the second time I didn't get to finish my lunch. Charlie walked in the kitchen and sat the pizza box on the table. It smelled amazing and I couldn't wait to dig in.

After dinner, Charlie insisted on washing our dishes so I went upstairs to wait for Eli to call. While I waited I sat on my bed and decided to read my emails. I grabbed my lab top from my desk that my mom bought me before I left; her hope that it would keep us in touch more but I haven't used it since I first arrived here which was last week. I logged in and checked my emails. Most of them were from Renee of course, but I was surprised to see one from my friend Katie that lived in Phoenix. I really wasn't expecting her to keep in touch. She was considered my closest friend in phoenix. I loved her like one but she tended to turn on me a lot. She just got in these weird spells where one minute she wanted to talk to me and then the next, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. But, during the time that we did talk, I loved being around her and we had so much fun together. But I just had a feeling when I left I would probably never see or talk to her again. I clicked on it and prepared myself for what it might say.

**_Monday, September 20__th__. 2:30pm_**

**_Subject: Hey Bella!_**

_To: Bells89Swan_

_From: Katie2Cutie_

_Hey Bella!_

_How are you? I miss you soooo much. School has been such a bore without you here. Junior year at Phoenix High is the same as every other year. I have a couple of classes with Sarah and Melissa but it's not the same without out you here. How is your junior year at Forks? How's the high school there? Are the people weird? Well, I better get going. I have a major test in History tomorrow so I need to study. Talk to you soon! _

_Love,_

_Katie._

_OH! Big PS!! Guess who asked me to homecoming???? Jacob Black!! Can you believe he asked me?? Well, gotta go. Laters! _

Oh. My. God. I read through it shocked, I couldn't believe she was being so civil. But, when I got to her "Big PS" I nearly chocked! Jacob Black was a boy that I had a crush on since our freshman year. He was absolutely the most handsomely breath taking American Indian I had ever seen. And every year he grew even more handsome. He was tall with a muscular built. He had long shiny black hair that he kept mostly in a ponytail. I remember having a class with him in our sophomore year and I sat behind him. I kept trying to resist the urge to just run my hands through his long silky hair. His skin was such a beautiful olive tone and seemed to always be free of any imperfections. He had a glorious smile and his voice - oh god, his voice could make any girl melt.

I couldn't believe that this "supposed" friend went this far. She knew how I felt about him and I remember her statements and opinions about him clearly. She would always ask, "How on earth could you like Jacob Black? He's not even that cute! Grossss." So what happened now Katie? Did a rock fall out of the sky and hit you in the head and make you realize that I wasn't wrong about liking Jacob? Or, were you just trying to get back at me for leaving Phoenix? Or, could you even be lying to me just to make me mad? I decided to act like it didn't bother me, and act "civil" myself. Maybe it would piss _her_ off.

**_Tuesday, September 21__st__. 7:49pm _**

**_Subject: Hey Kat!_**

_To: Katie2Cutie_

_From:_ _Bells89Swan_

_Dear Katie, _

_I am doing very well thank you. How are you? I'm sorry to here about school. Tell Sarah and Mel I said hi. My year here is starting off really well. I met a girl named Eli and she is absolutely amazing! We became best friends almost instantly! Forks High is so much better and the guys couldn't be cuter! The people here are all very nice and friendly. I am having a great time here living in Forks. I don't think I want to ever come back to Phoenix. Oh, and I almost forgot to congratulate you on Jacob asking you to the dance. I hope you guys have a lot of fun! Well, I better go now. I'm waiting on a phone call from Eli. Take care Katie, talk to you soon,_

_Bella._

I laughed at what I had wrote after I finished and pushed send. I knew she was probably hoping to hear that I was having a horrible time and that I hated it here, which would have been true yesterday, but since Eli came along I'm starting to feel a little better about this rainy depressing place. Katie will probably blow her top when she reads the part about it being better and the guys are cuter. And I wish I could see her face when she saw that I didn't care about her going out with Jacob.

I turned the lab top off and sat it back down on my desk. I was still giggling to myself when the phone rang.

"I got it!" I yelled hoping Charlie heard me. I sat on my bed and answered the phone.

"Hello?" I heard a click and thought the person hung up but then I heard Charlie's voice.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Dad, I got it."

"Oh, sorry" I heard a giggle and knew Eli was on the other end. Finally I heard the click I was waiting for, signaling that Charlie hung up.

"Hello?" I asked again, even though I knew who it was already.

"Hey Bella! How are you feeling? Not stressing are you?" Eli asked me. I could still hear the giggle in her voice.

"Hey Eli! I'm feeling good actually."

"That's good! I've still been worried about you." Aw, I was touched that Eli was still worried about me.

"Well, thank you, but you don't need to be. I'm fine."

"So…you wanna hear what Edward said?" She asked. And even though I couldn't see it, I knew she had that annoying knowing smile on her face.

"Uh – sure. I guess so." I said a little shy. Why does she like torturing me with Edward? Couldn't she see that we could never belong together?

"Ah, come on now Bella. You know you want to." She giggled.

"Oh, alright, get on with it already." I said, feigning impatience. That made her giggle again. I lyed down flat on my back with my feet propped up on my pillows. Might as well get comfy.

"Well, as soon as I answered the phone, I told him that you were alright and that all your tests showed nothing was wrong and that it was all mostly brought on by you stressing out too much. That worried him a bit though and he was still curious as to why you had fainted in the first place."

"Oh, well, you can tell him he doesn't need to worry about me. I'm fine." He really needs to stop this. Was he doing it on purpose? Maybe he just feels sorry for me. Yep, that was probably it. Or even better, I bet he's trying to impress that gorgeous strawberry blonde that was sitting in front of him today. He's treating me like a charity case, hoping to show that he has a "sensitive" side to him. The more I thought about all this, the more I was getting angry and the more it was starting to sound true and clear. There is no way in hell that Edward Cullen would be really worried about me.

"Oh, I'm sure even if I told him, he would still be asking me if you were alright."

"Well, he shouldn't." My tone came out a little bit harsher than I expected. I didn't want to take it out on Eli, but she was pushing it a little to far.

"Bella, what's wrong? I bet you don't believe me, do you?"

"Oh, yeah Eli, I believe you. Edward Cullen, the most popular guy in Forks High, is worried about the dumb, shy, geeky, and klutzy out cast. Yep, mhm, I believe you." Why was she pushing this? I sat up and began to rub my temples. I was already getting a headache.

"Bella, don't call yourself that! Look, I know I've only known you for what? About a half a day? Well, I knew as soon as I met you we were going to be friends! Your smart, funny, kind, caring, friendly, silly, magnificent, talented and extremely beautiful might I add. So, why wouldn't Edward be worried about you? You're a great person Bella, I just don't think you see it in yourself, but you are. You're better than half of these lame students at Forks and I'm so glad I have someone like you to share my misery with." She joked with the last part and it made me laugh.

I can't believe she already sees this much in me already. But then again, I'm not as surprised though because I could name off a huge list explaining why Eli is such a good friend, the best I've probably ever had.

"I'm sorry Eli, I am so glade that you feel that way about me. I think you're a great person too, more than you could ever know. I don't think my old best friend in Phoenix would have even cared enough to follow and stay with me in the hospital. But, I'm just – a little over whelmed with all this Edward stuff right now. I – I don't think I'm ready to believe any of it right now, but maybe I will in time." Psh. I doubt that. I said it before and I will say it again. Edward is too perfect for someone like me. Not even Eli could talk me out of that.

"Ok Bella. I will let it all drop. But, I just want you to know; Edward has never really had a girlfriend since I've been here. Yes, he's the most popular guy in school, but when it comes to girls, I've never seen him look at one like the way he looks at you. He even gets annoyed by all the girls who ask him out. And some of those girls have been dead knockouts, but still he refused them." She stopped and sighed before she continued. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't think any girl here has ever caught his interest, but when you came along – well, I think you sparked something. You should see the way he looks at you Bella when you aren't looking! I've never seen him look at a girl in that way. Just keep an open mind Bella. Kay?"

I sighed heavily after I took in what she said. I was shocked. Edward has never had a girlfriend since she's been here? No girl at Forks High has caught his interest? Not even that strawberry blonde? Oh come on! If I we would stand side by side I'd look like a shack compared to her being a mansion. It was all very hard to believe but I didn't think Eli would lie to me. But, I still can't believe that Edward would like me in any possible way. Plus, I knew it would all just end in heartbreak. A gorgeous guy like him would get bored with the average looks of me. I don't think I could take being hurt by him. It would be like a slap in the face, like an "I told you so".

"Ok Eli, I will try to keep an open mind about him, but don't expect anything right away." I will try, but I doubt there would be anything good to come from it. "

"Thank you Bella. Oh my, it's already 10:00! I gotta go. I have to finish up a history paper I totally forgot about! Eek! Oh, and I need directions to your house before I go."

I gave here clear and easy directions. It wasn't hard to find anything here in Forks anyway.

"Ok, is it alright if I come pick you up around 7:40? You don't live very far from it right?" She asked.

"Sure, that's fine. We would make it there definitely before the bell would ring."

"Ok, cool. I will see you in the morning then. Night Bella. Sleep well!"

"Alright Eli, you too and have a goodnight." I said, and then hung the phone up.

I was pretty tired from everything that had happened today and our phone conversation only left me even more confused than before. Oh crap! I wanted to talk to her more about what happened to Edward when he got adopted and who were Alice and Emmett? Oh, well, I have tomorrow and whenever I guess.

I sighed and got up from my bed and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. After I was done I went down stairs and said goodnight to Charlie. I crawled into my bed and wanted nothing more than to sleep the night away without all these thoughts that kept running through my head. Ugh, I need a break from them! I figured I would be lying there tossing and turning but I was soon drifting off. .

_Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. _

Seriously! You are asking for it you evil dam alarm clock! Why can't you just let me be? I rolled over on my side and growled at the thing that was making the annoying noise and turned it off. One of these days, I swear I will throw it out my window and watch it shatter into a million pieces. Then, I will take my truck and run it over a few times. Ha! Then I'd like to see it try to beep again!

I yawned before I got out of my warm comfy haven and then started to gather my things to get ready. After I rushed through my shower and blow-drying my hair, I headed down stairs for breakfast. I wanted to make sure I was ready before Eli came to pick me up.

"Morning dad." I said as I headed to the fridge and grabbed an apple.

"Morning Bells. Did you want a ride to school?" He asked as he got up and refilled his cup of coffee.

"No thank you. Eli's going to pick me up. She should be getting here soon." I said as I sat at the table to and took another bite of my apple. Charlie sat down in his usual seat.

"Oh, well that's nice of her. If I see her I'm going to have to thank her." He said as he put sugar into his coffee.

"Yeah, she offered yesterday before we left the hospital."

"How are you feeling this morning?" He asked concerned.

"I'm feeling fine, as normal as can be I suppose."

"That's good. You can stay home today if you want Bells. I don't want you pushing yourself."

"I'm fine dad, I can go to school." I sighed and looked at the clock. It was 7:30am.

"Alright, I'm glad you are feeling better. Well, I better get going." He said as he got up and gathered his things. Then he looked at me with a serious expression on his face that made me stop biting my apple mid way. "I will see you when I get home. Have a good day at school and try not to stress today okay Bella?"

"Alright dad, I will." I sighed.

"Ok, bye Bells." He said and then walked out the kitchen.

"Bye Dad!" I heard the door open and then close. I heard the cruiser start and then pull out of the driveway. I looked over at the clock for the second time. It was now 7:35. She should be getting here.

I got up and threw away my apple core. Then I headed upstairs to get my book bag. Just as I was making my way down the stairs the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" I called.

I reached the door and put on my coat before opening it. I put my bag on my shoulder and then opened the door. As I was opening the door I was smiling ready to great Eli but when it opened completely, my smile dropped. I felt my knees tremble a little and thought I was going to faint again. There, standing behind the girl I was suspecting, was Edward Cullen. I stared at him shocked while he just stood there behind Eli smiling at me. Why? Why? WHY WAS HE HERE? I looked at Eli with probably a panicked expression and she was smiling at me sheepishly.

"Morning Bella. Uh – your probably wondering why Edwards here. Well, I went to go start my car this morning and it wouldn't start. Edward was already at my house because he was going to give Brandon a ride to school but he is sick. And, so, he offered me a ride and then I told him I was going to pick you up and I would just take Brandon's car but he insisted on coming here and giving you a ride also, so um yeah. Good morning." She smiled a bit nervously. At first, I thought she set all this up but I could tell she was just as uncomfortable as I was.

I just stared at her, still in shock, until I heard my beautiful angels voice sending the all to familiar shivers down my spine.

"I hope you don't mind Bella. I was already at Eli's house and thought it better to just car pool." He said, still smiling at me. Only this time it looked like a shy smile. Oh I like that smile, it's cute. I wish I could – focus Bella! Quit looking like a fish and say something!

"Uh – no. I – I Don't mind." I managed to stutter out.

"Great! Let's get going shall we? We don't want to be late." Eli said with her enthusiastic smile.

I just nodded my head and closed the front door. I kept my head down making sure I didn't embarrass myself by tripping on something or slipping in any puddles as we made our way across the front lawn. Plus, I didn't want Edward or Eli to see the major blush that was on my face.

When we stoped walking across the lawn I looked up and saw the same silver Volvo that I saw on my first day in the Forks High parking lot. It figures, I should have known it belonged to him. I opened the back door and was just about to get in when Eli slid in the seat. Where the heck did she come from and how did she do that so fast? She just looked up at me and smiled. I glared at her before I closed her door. When I turned around I jumped. Edward was standing there holding the passenger door open for me. I looked at him and he smiled. I dropped my gaze and muttered a quick thank you before I got in. Gosh. My face probably looks like it's on fire.

"Your welcome" He said smiling, before he closed the door gently. I watched as he made his way around the car and slipped into the drivers seat. He started the engine and a soft purr could be heard. Oh wow. I like that a lot better than the sound of my truck. The roar of the engine was way too loud and sometimes even scared me.

As he pulled away from the house he pushed a button on the radio and music began to filter through the car. It was another one of my favorite bands, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. He turned the volume down a bit, probably to be kind in case we started a conversation or something.

"So Bella, how are you feeling this morning?" Eli asked from the back seat. I felt Edward's gaze slightly on me and it made me blush. I turned and looked out the window hoping he didn't see it.

"Uh – I feel fine I guess." I said, still looking out the side window.

"That's good. Did you sleep well?" She asked.

"Yeah, actually, I did." I couldn't believe how well I slept. It was my first night in a while that I wasn't up tossing and turning.

"That's good." She said again.

"Oh, how did your history paper go?" I asked and I turned away from the window to look back at Eli. When I did I saw Edward glance at me but I kept my eyes glued on the girl in the back seat. He better quit looking at me and pay attention to the road!

"Urgh, it went alright I guess. We were supposed to write a 6-page essay on the rise and fall of Egypt, but mine only came out to 5 pages. Oh, well. At least I did it." She said smiling.

"I'm sorry. I could have helped you on it last night if I'd known you were writing it on that." She looked at me a bit puzzled so I added. "I already did it last semester in Phoenix."

"Oh, that's alright Bella. You needed to rest anyway." She said smiling. "Plus, Mr. Forge hardly ever pays attention to the length as long as the essay is good."

I smiled back her and turned my attention to the front. Again, as I was turning I spotted Edward glancing at me. I expected him to turn away once he realized I was looking but instead he turned to look all the way at me and smiled. Oh my, don't do that to me unless you want me fainting right here in your car! I quickly smiled back and looked out the side window hoping to hide my blush from him again.

"So, Edward. Did you do the Spanish homework?" Eli asked.

"Si, I finished it all" His angelic voice joked. Oh, so they have Spanish together? Thank god I don't. I always look and sound like an idiot when I'm attempting to speak a different language. Ha! I sometimes even look and sound like an idiot when I attempt to speak my own language!

"So, Bella…. did you want to meet a couple of people today?" Eli asked me. "Some of my friends are dieing to meet you!"

I felt Edward glance at me again. Ok, seriously dude, I know you're an angel and all, but I'd like to make it to school in one piece!

"Uh – how much is a couple?" I asked. I knew how much some people exaggerated the term "couple".

"Oh, just a few. Trust me Bella, you're going to like them, especially Alice! She's been really dying to meet you! "

"O – okay. Um, who's Alice?" I was expecting Eli to answer and was shocked when Edward answered my question instead.

"She's my sister. Alice Cullen." He said. Oh –ok, _that_ Alice. Whoa, wait a sec. She was dying to meet me? Why? I was just about to ask Eli when I realized we pulled into the school parking lot. I spotted my truck parked in the same spot I left it.

When Edward parked the car I began to gather my book bag and I was just about to open the door when it all of a sudden, it opened for me. What on earth? Did he have like an automatic door opener or something? I looked up and was shocked to see Edward standing there holding my door open. Ok, there must be something in the water here. How on earth did they move so fast? He must have seen the look on my face and he chuckled.

"Football. I guess you can say it kind of improved my agility. "

"I'd say." I muttered. Then, I heard the most beautiful sound in the world that made my heart skip a beat. I heard him laugh. The laugh in my dreams did not do it justice. And this time it was better because he wasn't laughing at me.

"Uh – thanks for the ride." I said as I got out the car. I looked down at the ground as I waited for Eli to get out.

"Yeah, thanks Edward." Eli said as she closed her door. We then began to walk towards the main campus.

"No problem." He said. I could feel his eyes on me but I kept my eyes glued to the ground. I was looking for anything that would attract my feet and make me trip. Plus, I was too embarrassed to look at his angelic face.

"Well, see ya later Ed. We are headed off to English." Eli said as we began to reach the buildings.

"Why don't I walk you guys?" Edward asked kindly. I knew he was speaking to Eli but I could still feel his gaze on the left side of my face. "I have Government so your buildings before mine."

"Alrighty!" Eli said happily.

It was quiet, not one of us said a word. I really didn't know what to say. What would you say to the guy of your dreams? This perfect angel walking so close to me? I was speechless that he was even this close.

As we were nearing building two, I noticed there were other eyes on me other than Edward, and I began to hear whispers. I looked up and saw almost everyone we walked by staring at me. Some were whispering and pointing in our direction. Oh great. This feels like the first day of school! They are either staring at me like I'm a freak because A, I fainted in front of half the school yesterday and made a complete fool of myself by having an ambulance come and take me to the hospital. Or…B, Edward Cullen was walking voluntarily with me. Which one was it people? This was starting to get really annoying. I hate attention like this.

I was starting to get uncomfortable from all the gazes so I looked at my feet while we walked and let my hair hide my burning red cheeks. We reached classroom number seven and stopped. I knew both Eli and Edward were looking at me but I still didn't look up. Not when I could see every person with in my eye site staring at me.

"Well, here we are. I guess we will see you at lunch?" Eli asked Edward casually. _We?_ We will see_ him _at lunch? I hope she just means we are going to see him, from a distance. He took a moment to answer.

"Yeah, I will see you guys at lunch." He stood there for a moment again before he started to walk away. "Later Eli, Later Bella." I looked up at him and I saw him, walking backwards facing us, in the direction of his building. Once he saw me look up he smiled. Oh, that smile is going to kill me! I smiled back quickly and then went for the doorknob to head inside while Eli followed in suit.

**AN: Well, there you have it. Yet another chapter done and there is still more to come! I have no idea how many yet but I will see where the story takes me. Sooooooo…watcha think of the chapter? And, how do you feel about the story all together? Please leave me some reviews! I love to hear from you guys!!!!! I am already starting on the fourth chapter so I will have it up soon, I pwomise :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: Yay! Chapter 4 is down and done! I hope you guys like it. Please don't hate me when you get to some parts. I know it may look like it's going to end bad for you know who but trust me and keep an open mind! I want to thank you all who left me reviews. I absolutely love hearing from you!! And this story is going to be dedicated to all of you reviewers! Love ya! Enjoy :)**

Chapter: 4

Eli and I headed to our seats and sat down just as the bell rang. I felt everyone's eyes on me and I was trying my best to ignore it. But, how could I? I felt like a deranged animal in a cage and everyone was looking at me, waiting for me to do something. I wasn't going to faint again people, so just turn away and leave me be! I felt Eli's gaze on me as well, but I knew she was probably looking at me concerned because she knew how uncomfortable I felt. Then, I heard someone's voice say something to me.

"Hey Bella." I turned slowly to my right and saw Eric looking at me. What the? Why is he talking to me? For the past two days I've sat here and he hasn't spoken a word to me!

"My name is Eric." He said smiling. Well, Duh! I know who _you_ are.

"Hi." I said. I really didn't want to talk to anyone other than Eli at the moment. She wasn't the one who was looking at me as if I just died and came back to life. I heard a giggle come from my left and I turned to see Eli looking at her desk trying to hide the smile on her face. She looked up and just shrugged her shoulders at me as if she didn't do anything.

"So, how are you today Bella?" Eric asked. I turned back to him. Oh, so that's why you're talking to me know is it.

"I'm doing ok I guess." I said, a little not to friendly. Why does he care?

But the look on his face made a hint of guilt rush through me. He actually looked a little hurt by my tone and it did seem like he was trying to be nice. I dropped my hostile act and asked a little bit more friendly. "Um – how are you Eric?"

"I'm doing good actually. Did you read chapters one through five yet?" He asked. Immediately he seemed a bit more chipper. Hmm, maybe he really is just trying to be friendly.

"Yeah, I finished them on Monday. What about you?" I asked and gave him a little smile. Well, if he's going to be friendly to me, then I was going to be friendly to him I decided.

"Yeah, same here, finished them on Monday. So, what did you thi - " he was cut off by Mr. Renaldo who came bursting through the door.

I took a good look at him and was surprised to see his usually neatly combed black hair, a complete mess and disarray on top of his head. He looked like he was out of breathe and his shirt was only partially tucked in. I obviously wasn't the only one who noticed as I began to hear whispers and giggles come from around me. I turned and looked at Eli who was staring just as shocked as I was. She turned to me and just shrugged.

"Class, may I have your attention please?" He asked. Uh – dude, I think you got it. "I have an announcement to make."

What ever his announcement was - was obviously something exciting to him because he looked positively giddy. Like a little boy on Christmas morning who just received the coolest toy ever. I almost giggled to myself as I tried to picture him as a little boy playing with a toy train and saying, _chugga_ _choo – choo!_

"Class, my wife had a baby girl yesterday morning! That's why I was unable to attend class." He said with the hugest smile on his face. Awwww, he had a baby! No wonder why he's so happy.

As soon as his news made it out of his mouth, the whole class erupted into a bunch of "Aww!" "How Exciting!" "Congratulations!" and "Way to go Mr. R!"

"So, does that mean you will go easy on us and we can have a free day again today?" Some boy named Mike Newton asked up in the front. Everyone in class laughed. Well, everyone except for me. What an idiot.

"I don't think so Mike. But, thank you all. My wife and I are excited to have her in our life and we can't wait to see what the future holds for us. Now, take your books out and turn to page 103. I presume you all read the chapters?" His voice was almost drowned out by all the groans.

Halfway through class I felt something hit my hand. It was a piece of paper. I turned and looked at Eli, who smiled back and shook her head encouragingly. So, I picked it up and read what it said.

_Hey Bella! I was wondering if you were all right? I saw the look on your face when Eric talked to you so I better warn you. You will probably get a lot more people talking to you today. _

I looked at her stunned. What the – what was she talking about? I wrote under Eli's neat writing:

_Why are people going to be talking to me today? Did they just now realize that I am a human being and not an alien from some other planet who came here to steel all of their brains or something?_

I finished and looked up at Mr. Renaldo. He was busy rattling on about something so I passed the note back. I watched her reaction and she smiled before she began to write a response. She seemed to take a while with it but when she was done she through the response back at me when Mr. Renaldo wasn't looking.

_Good one, but no. Well, they know you're a human and I think yesterday proved how much human you really are to them. I wasn't lying to you yesterday when I said that half the school almost contacted me at the hospital. They were all seriously worried about you, and they still are. That's why you are getting so many stares today! But, just be prepared. Some people might ask how you are and stuff but try not to look so stunned. Wait, no, please do because you look absolutely hilarious when you do! :) _

I looked back at her and glared, I was just about to write a response back when I heard my name being called by Mr. Renaldo. Oh crap! I've been caught!

"Miss Swan, can you come up to my desk please?" I looked up slowly. It was almost hilarious the way every single head in the classroom turned so quickly in my direction. I immediately felt the all to familiar burn in my cheeks as I stood up and walked slowly over to his desk. I almost tripped over some ones back pack but they moved it out of the way before I could. I would have thanked them if I weren't so scared about what was to come. I reached his desk all to soon it seemed and looked up at him.

His reaction to me passing notes was not what I expected. Shouldn't he be mad? Shouldn't he be writing me up a detention? Not sitting there smiling up at me. I was so confused.

"Good morning Bella. I called you up here to ask how you were doing today. I saw Elizabeth at the hospital yesterday and I asked her why she was there. She told me you had fainted at lunch. Are you doing alright today Miss Swan?"

I looked up at him in shock. Wait? What? Rewind. He didn't just catch me passing notes? He wasn't going to yell at me or give me a detention? He was asking if I was all right? Oh my, what a relief!

Mr. Renaldo was looking at me a little concerned as he waited for my answer and I felt every pair of eyes in the classroom, burning wholes in my back. Well, maybe if they all hear me they won't come up to me and ask me any questions later.

"I – I'm doing better sir. Thank you for your concern but I feel much better today." I said my voice a little shaky. Don't judge me people. I hate public speaking!

"Well, that's good to hear. I am glad you are better and if you feel any bit under the weather, you let me know right away and I will excuse you. Okay?" He smiled at me.

"Oh - okay, thank you Sir." I blushed and looked down. Why can't I ever get through a single conversation _without_ blushing? Seriously, it's embarrassing!

"Alright Bella, I was just making sure you were ok. You may go back to your seat."

I sighed in relief and turned around. Everyone was still looking at me so I slowly made my way back down the isle to my seat. I sat down and looked over at Eli. Mr. Renaldo was busy explaining something to a girl up front so I spoke to her.

"Why didn't you tell me you saw Mr. Renaldo yesterday?" I asked accusingly.

"Must have just escaped my mind I guess." She said with a smile, and then looked back down at her notes.

I sighed. Today was going to be a long day. I wonder how all my other teachers are going to treat me today.

The rest of my teachers treated me about the same. They all asked if I was all right and if I wasn't feeling well, then I could go straight to the nurse. I still got the uncomfortable stares and heard the whispers in the halls and in my classes. Some kids I don't even remember the names of asked me how I was doing. I tried not to look shocked like Eli said but it was still too hard to believe that they were actually talking to me. I think I shocked everyone else though because they weren't expecting me to be back in school so soon.

Mike Newton, from my English class stopped me in the hall after I got out of math and was waiting for Eli. He was another popular football student here but he wasn't as popular as the Cullen's. He had short spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, and was about six foot something. He was pretty handsome, but not as handsome as my Edward. WAIT! REWIND! What did I just say? I need to stop thinking like that. Stop it Bella! Stop it!

"Hey Bella, my name's Mike. We have first period English together?" He asked as if I didn't know.

"Hey, Mike. Yeah, you sit up front right?" I asked playing along with his little game. He smiled as he realized I caught on.

"Sorry." He said smiling then his facial expression got serious. "I was wondering – I know you already said in English that you were ok, but I was just making sure that you really were."

"Yeah, I'm really ok." I said nervously.

"Oh, that's good. I'm glad to hear that." He said with a smile again, and to my shock he actually looked relieved.

"Uh - thank you." I said a bit awkwardly.

"So, what class are you headed to next?"

"Art. I'm waiting for Eli Perkins, we have it together." I said, and looked around the hall. Where was she by the way? Yesterday she was here only a second I got out of class.

"That's cool. With Mr. Warner right?"

"Yep, well, Kooky Mr. Warner." I said, and this made Mike laugh.

Wow, someone other than Eli laughed at my retarded joke? He must really be trying to be friendly. But, he was a nice guy. I don't really mind his company, unlike Eric. I don't know why but that boy just made me feel a little uneasy.

"Yeah, he is pretty "kooky" isn't he? I had him last year. I hardly did a thing in his class but he still passed me. He even said that I was one of his best students. And, he wonders why he never has any of my "amazing" work to show others." He said jokingly. It made me laugh though. Honestly, how could Mr. Warner not know why? Gosh, he wasn't just kooky, he was a plain nut! We were both laughing still when I heard a voice come from my right. .

"Hey, what's so funny?" I turned my head and saw Eli smiling at Mike and I. Then, My heart skipped a beat when I saw Edward standing right next to her. But, he wasn't looking at me, he was looking at Mike and he didn't look too happy. Hmm, what's got him so upset?

"Bella said you two have Mr. Warner next. I was just telling her my story about how Mr. Warner thought I was his most amazing student even though I didn't hardly do a thing in his class." Mike said with a grin. We all started laughing again, well everyone except for Edward, he was giving Mike the death glare. But, Mike seemed to not pay him any attention because he was still looking at me. Why was Edward acting this way? What's wrong with Mike?

"Well, I better head to class. I would walk you but my building is in the opposite direction. So, I guess I will see you later Bella and I'm glad everything's ok." Mike said and gave me a smile. He then turned to Eli and told her later as well and turned to take his leave.

"Later Mike!" Eli called out. I turned to her and there it was again! As noticeable as the freaking Grand Canyon, that annoying knowing smile she loves to wear so much was displayed across her pretty face.

"What now?" I asked with a sigh.

"Oh, nothing." She seemed to like to say that a lot too. "Its just, well, you and Mike looked a little cozy chatting with each other."

I glared at Eli and noticed that Edward was doing the exact same thing. What is wrong with him? This morning he seemed happy. He was smiling a lot, even at me. So, why now was he glaring at everyone and not even bothering to look at me?

Right on cue, it was as if he heard my thoughts. His head turned in my direction and his face softened into a calmer pose. My heart skipped more than one beat when his dazzling smile spread across his angelic face. It made me so dizzy I thought I was going to faint all over again.

"So, you ready to head to class?" Eli asked me and smiled. "Edward here has offered to walk us since his class isn't too far from the art building."

"Uh – ok." I managed after I regretfully looked away from his gaze and I finally broke out of the trance his smile put me through.

We made our way to class. Eli did most of the talking while I just nodded and smiled at everything she said, even though I wasn't paying attention. She could have said that Johnny Depp was hit by a bus or something and I would have just smiled and nodded at her. I was still puzzling over Edwards's reaction earlier. Obviously he wasn't in a bad mood. All of his hostility was pointed at Mike directly and I wondered why. What had Mike done to him? Weren't they friends? They were both popular and on the football team so, why didn't they seem to get along?

We were suddenly standing in front of the art building when I realized Eli was calling my name.

"Bella, earth to Bella." She said waving her hand in my face.

"Huh? Wha – what?" I stuttered out and looked up at Eli and Edward. Eli looked like she wanted to burst out laughing and Edward looked amused. Oh, great. Well, at least I know I could amuse him.

"Bella, are you sure you aren't from another planet? Cause it looked like your mind was far away some where else." She said with a giggle, which landed her with another glare from my end.

"No, I'm not from another planet Eli. Now, what were you saying?" I asked a little annoyed. I looked at Edward and saw that he was looking in a different direction with a grin on his face.

"I _said_, we should meet up with Edward after class and walk to lunch together. Sound good? Or, do you have plans to go with Mike Newton?" She said, and dragged out Mike's name taunting me. As soon as she asked about me meeting up with Mike, Edward's head spun from the direction he was looking in and stared right at me. It caught me by surprise at first but I managed to gain control and answer her.

"No, I don't have plans with Mike." Edward smiled after I said this. God, that was a beautiful smile. Control yourself Bella and stop drooling it isn't polite! "Uh - and sure. I don't care."

"Um, actually. I kind of have stuff to take care of before lunch. So, you two should probably head to lunch without me. I will see you guys in there though." Edward said, still not looking away from me.

"Aw, Edward you party pooper. I guess we will see you later then." Eli said and grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the door.

"Later Eli. I will see you guys at lunch. Bye Bella." He said and I turned around a little while Eli still dragged me. He gave me his crooked grin that almost made me melt.

"Bye!" I managed to get out before Eli got me all the way through the door. Jeez. What was with her? And how is this petite girl so strong? I probably couldn't stop her from dragging me if I tried. Then, it donned on me. Oh, yeah, that's why. She eats like a freaking grizzly bear and is as strong as one too!

We got to our seats just as the bell rang and we sat everything up. Kooky Mr. Warner was of course, fifteen minutes late and after he explained what we were going to be doing, we got busy. My mind was still on Edward and the confusion I felt towards him and why he was acting the way he was towards Mike. Then, I thought about lunch. God, I was dreading it. Eli said she had a "Few" friends who were dying to meet me, one of them included Edward's sister, Alice.

The bell rang a little sooner than I had hoped. I wanted the period to drag by so it would buy me more time before I had to face Eli's friends at lunch, and then eventually Edward. Oh crap! Edward! How on earth was I going to get through biology, especially now? What do I do if he starts to talk to me? Well, ah duh Bella - talk back. Eli and I cleaned are stuff up and put our finished pieces in our portfolios.

"You ready for lunch?" Eli asked excitedly as we made our way out of the art building towards the cafeteria.

"Uh – to tell you the truth, not really." I said looking down at my feet.

"Aw, how come? Bella, you have absolutely no reason to be worried! Well, I understand why you are but trust me, they are going to love you!" She said. I looked up and saw that we were a few feet from the cafeteria now. I could imagine if I were in a movie the sound effect of _duhn duhn duhn_, would fit perfectly in that moment. Or, the theme from _Psycho._

"I don't know Eli. How about you give me one more day to myself?" I asked hopeful.

"Not uh. I don't think so. Everyone has their minds set on meeting you today and they will be disappointed if we flaked out."

Eli held the door open for me, waiting for me to step inside. She probably thought I would run the moment she turned her back and she was probably right. Running sounded like a good idea at the moment, but I stalked past Eli and went through the door.

We were in line getting our food. I really wasn't hungry. I was so nervous it felt like I was going through the first day of school all over again. My mind would wonder to questions like; What if they didn't like me? What if they all thought I was some hopeless geek and they were just trying to be nice to Eli and not hurt her feelings about meeting me? What if they convince Eli that I'm nothing but an outcast and belonged to stay that way?

"Hey Bella, are you going to get that sandwich or do you prefer to just stare at it all day?" Eli asked and giggled.

I hadn't even realized I stopped walking and was staring at the turkey sandwiches. Oh, well, might as well get one I guess. I grabbed a couple more things before I pulled my money out and paid the lunch lady. Eli was right behind me and I turned to see her tray was pilled with food, just like yesterday. I don't think I'm ever going to get over how much this tiny girl can eat!

I waited for her to pay and she walked in front of me. I was about to start walking and follow her but she stopped and looked at me.

"Bella, you don't need to worry ok? I will be there with you, and you never know. You might like some of them! I know they are going to like you. And, I told them not to mention anything about yesterday ok? Alrighty, you ready?" She asked me with a reassuring smile. Come on Bells, you can do this. Take deep breathes. Big deep breathes and you will be fine. After my third deep breath I nodded to Eli. She started walking again and I followed.

She led me to the table in the far right corner where all of the popular students were sitting. My mouth nearly dropped. Oh my, why is she leading me here? I knew Edward might sit with us, but I figured we would sit at another table, not with almost every poplar student! Deep breathes Bella, Deep breathes!

"Hey everyone!" Eli said as we approached the table. They all turned and smiled at her. Some said hey back but most were looking at me curiously.

"This is Bella Swan - the new student from Phoenix High!" She said excitedly. They all looked at me and smiled. I nearly toppled over at all of their beautiful smiles. Wow, they are smiling at me? They aren't looking at me like I have two heads?

"Hey Bella! Come sit over here!" The black-headed Tinkerbell said. She motioned for Eli and me to take a seat in front of her. I almost laughed at the way she was bouncing up and down on her seat excitedly.

As we were taking our seat, I barely had time to sit when the girl in front of me stuck her hand out in front of me to shake.

"Hi! My name is Alice, Alice Cullen. It's great to finally meet you Bella!" So, the black-headed Tinkerbell was Edwards's sister?

"Uh – thank you Alice. It's nice to meet you too." I said a little shakily when I let go of the pixies hand.

"Oh, Bella. You are going to love it here. We are going to have so much fun! You just wait until we take one of our shopping trips! Eek, _I_ can't wait!" Alice squealed excitedly. I giggled at the way she was still bouncing up and down on her seat. Oh, wait a sec. did she just say…shopping? We were going to go…shopping? Me and…shopping? Oh my. Not good.

"Calm down Alice. You don't want to scare her away do you? We just met her!" The Terminator sized teenage football player said. He was sitting on Alice's left and he stuck his huge hand out for me to shake.

"Hey there Bella. My name is Emmett, Emmett Cullen. And yes, this little bouncing ball of joy sitting to my right is my sister. Don't let her scare you with the shopping thing. If she bugs you about it, then you just come to – " He stopped and looked at Alice. " – Or not." He finished. She was giving him the most evil glare I have ever seen. I saw Emmett shrink in his seat a little and I didn't blame him. I did the same thing and that glare wasn't even directed at me! He then turned to look at the beautiful blonde girl that I pictured as a supermodel on his left.

"Don't listen to Shrek over here Bella. You are going to have a blast! Oh, this is my boyfriend, Jasper Hale." She said and looked to the artsy blonde headed guy next to her on her right.

"Hi Bella, it's nice to meet you." He said and shook my hand.

"It's nice to meet you too." I said without stuttering or anything! For some odd reason I felt comfortable around him, almost calm. Hmm, that's weird.

"And, the girl on Emmett's left, is Rosalie Hale, Jasper's twin sister. Her and Emmett are going out." Alice said.

"Welcome to Forks Bella. I'm sure you're going to like it here." Rosalie said nicely and gave me one of her stunning smiles.

"Thank you, Rosalie."

"Oh, please call me Rose, Bella." She said and gave me one more of her beautiful smiles before she turned back to talk to Emmett.

"See, I told you. You have absolutely nothing to worry about." Eli said.

"Eli!" I glared at her.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Why did you have to say that out loud?" I whispered to her so only she would hear.

"What are you guys talking about?" Alice said before she took a bite of her food.

"Oh, Bella here was worried that you guys wouldn't like her. But, I was telling her she had nothing to worry about." Eli Said. I stared at her shocked. Why is she doing this to me? This isn't something your suppose to blurt out! It was private and embarrassing.

"Aw, Bella. We love you! Ever since Eli told us so much about you, we couldn't wait to meet you!" Alice said. "Plus, Edward hasn't stopped talking about you since you arrived here. I assume you met Edward right?" What? Edward talks about me? Deep breathes Bella, deep breathes.

"Uh – yeah. I know him. He's in my biology class and he gave me and Eli a ride to school today." I said a little in a daze. He talks about me? He talks about me with his friends? His family?

"Speaking of Edward, here he comes now. Oh, and look whose with him, the wonderful _Tanya._" Alice said with sarcasm dripping in every word. Wow. This little pixie can be feisty.

Wait? Tanya? Whose – I turned my head and looked as I saw Edward walking to the lunch line, holding hands with the beautiful strawberry blonde that I had seen yesterday sitting in front of him at this table. Oh, so that's Tanya.

I looked back at my uneaten food with angry tears in my eyes. I didn't really have a chance to start eating because of all the introductions, and right now I could care less. So, I now knew what the stuff was he had to take care of before lunch. My heart felt like it had sank all the way to the pit of my stomach and all the acid was eating away at it. I knew it. Here comes the slap in the face, the "I told you so". I knew Edward would never see me as anything more that some plain geek. Why would he like a girl like me, when he could have that beautiful girl he was with now?

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Eli staring at me concerned.

"Bella, it's ok. He doesn't even like her that much. And we all certainly don't like her. I honestly don't know why he puts up with her and I can't believe that they are together!" she said angrily.

"Oh, we are so going to have a heart to heart chat when we get home." Alice said. Her beautiful green eyes were in slits as she stared at the new couple.

I felt sick to my stomach. I knew I shouldn't have let Eli talk me into keeping an open mind about him. Guys like him were all the same. They were perfect so they looked for girls that were perfect. Not some clumsy geek that faints or has a panic attack when she gets too "stressed".

"Hey guys, mind if I sit here?" I snapped my head up as I heard a familiar voice and turned around to look at him. Mike Newton was standing there with his tray looking at the vacant seat on my right side.

"Oh Mike, I think that's a good idea! Come over here and sit next to Bella!" Eli said excitedly. I looked at her as if she gone mad. Well, it wouldn't have been the first time I stared at her that way. But, come on. Can't she see I'm not too keen on having company right now? Her and Alice even winked at each other. What the heck was she playing at with that – oh – there it is again. Damn that annoying knowing smile of hers!

I turned and looked at Mike, his face seemed to light up like a Christmas tree as he took a seat next to me.

"Hey Bella. How are you doing?" Gosh, is he going to keep asking me that? I am not going to faint! Well, maybe. If, I don't have another panic attack because of Edward. Should I tell him that I honestly felt like my heart has been ripped out and someone has stomped all over it? Should I tell him that all the hope in my little bubble has burst into a million pieces? Should I tell him I felt like kicking and screaming like a little girl who didn't get her way? Should I tell him he shouldn't waste his breath on me because he was probably just like Edward? I decided to lie. Why would he care about my problems?

"I'm doing ok I guess. How are you Mike?"

"I'm doing good. Just had a test in my math class and pretty much aced it." He said with a smile and then began to eat his food.

I heard a hiss come from the girl in front of me and I looked up. She was staring at something with the same evil looking slits. Whoa. Seriously. This little pixie is scaring the crap out of me! How could something so small and beautiful turn into some evil creature?

But, suddenly, the evil look on her face fell and she smiled at Mike.

"So Mike, do you have our sweet little Bella here in any of your classes?" She asked just as I saw Edward and Tanya sit on his other side out of the corner of my eye. Oh great. My lonely little table over in the other corner looked awfully comforting right about now.

"Yep, I do. We have first period English together. I think we even have PE too." He said smiling at me. I looked up at him and smiled back. What a weirdo. Why was he so happy about that? As I was looking at Mike, I got a plain view of Edward and he was staring at Mike like he wanted to punch him. What the hell was he playing at? I looked away from Edward and tried to focus on something else.

"That's cool! So, are you still having your beach thing this weekend?" She asked him and then looked at Edward herself. Ok, something's going on here and I want to know what it is!

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot, thanks for reminding me Alice." He said slapping his forehead. After he was done abusing him self, he turned to me and smiled. "Hey Bella, I'm having a beach bon fire down in La Push on Saturday since we are suppose to have good weather. Would you like to come?"

Uh. If Edward and Tanya are going to be there, then NO! I really didn't want to be in the same cafeteria as the two right now but I didn't want to hurt everyone's feelings by just running away.

"Oh, please, please Bella! We will all have a blast. I will even come pick you up Saturday morning so you don't have to worry about a thing!" Eli asked me with pleading eyes.

"Um – I don't know." I said.

Then Alice joined in with the pleading. Both her and Eli were giving me puppy eyes and little pouts. Grr, how am I supposed to resist them?

"Please Bella!" They both said. Gosh, I better shut them up. As cute as it was, it was starting to get annoying.

"Ok! Ok! I'll go." I said with a heavy sigh. Both Eli and Alice squealed and started to make plans about car-pooling.

"Awesome Bella! I will see you guys later. I have to talk to the coach about something before next period." Mike said and got up. "I will see you in PE Bella." He gave me one last smile and walked away.

"Eeek! This is so exciting! I'm so glad that you're coming Bella. We honestly weren't going to go, but I think it would be great for you to meet some other people. Plus, my brother is coming." Eli said and winked at Alice again. Ok, they better stop that!

"Yeah, Bella. Oh my, I just had an epiphany! Brandon is single, right Eli?" Alice asked. I thought I heard what sounded like a growl come from my right and I looked and saw Edward glaring daggers at her. The smile on her face grew wider as she continued to ignore him.

"Edward honey, are you ok?" I heard Tanya ask him. I almost gagged at how sickly sweet her voice sounded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said. I felt his eyes on me, but I didn't bother to look at him. Why should I?

"Yes, he is single!" Eli said excitedly.

"Oh, tell Bella what he said about her!" Alice squealed out. What on earth was she talking about?

"Bella, you know how you met my brother yesterday? Well, when I got home from the hospital and he was done asking me questions about how you were doing, well he told me some pretty good things about you." Eli said with that evil knowing smile. Dam that smile to hell!

Oh my. The first day I came here, not one guy except for Edward – grr – ever looked at me. And when they did it was because I just fell flat on my but or tripped over thin air. But now, what's with them? My mouth was beginning to feel dry so I opened my soda and took a drink while Eli continued.

"Well, he said that he thought you were really pretty, well no he said beautiful and he thought you were - " I cut her off when I started to choke on the soda that was in my mouth. He said WHAT? He thought I was –beautiful?

"Bella, are you ok?" Eli said with a little laugh as she pat my back. After my little coughing fit I looked up and saw everyone looking at me with both concerned and amused expressions on their faces. Well, Tanya didn't even bother to look at me and Edward just looked plain concerned. I quickly turned away from his gaze. Stop looking at him Bella! He doesn't want you remember? So don't go getting your hopes up all over again!

"Yeah, I – I I'm fine." I choked out and tried to clear my throat.

"Ok good. Cause I'm not finished yet so don't go taking another drink or bite of food. I don't want to have to do the Heimlich maneuver on you." She said laughing.

"Oh come on Eli! Get on with it before the bell rings! I wanna see her reaction already!" Alice whined impatiently.

"Calm down Alice. Anyways, Bella, my brother thought you were beautiful and sweet. He also said that he really liked you and wouldn't mind to get to know you better." I was just about ready to say yeah, right, when someone spoke before me.

"When did he say that?" I heard Edward ask. He sounded a bit mad.

"I said yesterday, when I got home from the hospital." Eli replied with an annoyed tone.

"Well, I was there yesterday and I don't remember him saying anything about Bella, let alone ask about how she was doing." Edward said a little icily.

"Well, Edward. You were not there when I first got home; you got there a half an hour after. So, did it ever occur to you that he could have asked me between that time?" Eli asked, still annoyed.

"Whoa, you two. Calm down." Emmett said.

"Yeah, guys! I want to hear what Bella has to say!" Alice said enthusiastically. "Isn't it exciting Bella? Brandon is one of the cutest guys here, well except for my Jasper of course, but you two would look so cute together!" She said and clapped her hands together as if trying to give her statement more effect. Just then I saw Edward whisper something to Tanya, and then they both got up and left the table without a goodbye.

"I –I don't know." I said. I really didn't know if Eli was telling me the truth. Did her brother really say those things about me? Or was she just trying to get Edward mad? Before anyone could say anything else, they bell rang signaling that lunch was over.

"Aww man. I don't wanna go to English. I already know how to speak it for crying out loud! Why would I have to take a class about it?" Emmett whined as we all started to stand up and grab our trays. I laughed, for as big and intimidating as Emmett was; he seemed to be nothing more than a giant kid.

"Oh come on, you're just like a whiney little kid." I heard Rosalie answer. I laughed again when I heard that his own girlfriend thought the same thing I did.

"Oh, look whose talking miss "oh no, I broke another nail!" Sound familiar?" He answered back which earned him a death glare from all the girls around him. I just laughed again, poor Emmett.

"Yikes, ok lets go. Later guys and later Bella. It was nice to meet you." He said and came around and gave me a bear-crushing hug.

"Uh – you – too!" I squeaked out.

"Emmett, let her go! The poor thing can't breathe! I'm sorry Bella; I will take this big annoying oaf away. It was nice to meet you too." Rosalie said with a smile.

"Thanks Rose." I said after Emmett finally released me. They both went and dumped there trays and left. Eli, Alice, Jasper, and I walked over to the trashcans and dumped our trays as well and then headed out the door.

"Well, I guess we will see you guys later. Jasper and I are headed off to PE. Bella, I'm so happy we are friends now! I saw you on your first day and you looked so sad and alone. But, I didn't want to over whelm you so when Eli here told me you two were friends, I couldn't wait to finally meet you!" She said and then gave me a hug.

"Thank you Alice. I'm glad we met too." I said shyly.

"Alrighty! See you two later. And Eli, I will call you tonight about you know who. Tell Bella about what we are planning though. Bye!" Alice said. And her and Jasper started to head off in the direction of the gym.

"Planning?" I asked and turned my head towards Eli as we began making our way to building number four. "What exactly are you two...planning?"

"Um, well. You see, I think that Edward just made the biggest mistake of his life by getting with Tanya and I know why he did it. Hey, I know. This is probably going to take a little while to explain, and I really don't think that Edward wants to talk to me right now, so can I ask you a huge favor?" She asked as we approached my class.

"Sure Eli, what is it?" I asked. This girl did a lot of favors for me already.

"Do you think, well if you don't mind, do you think you could give me a ride home?" She asked.

"Of course Eli, I don't mind at all. You've already done so much for me, I feel a ride home won't even make up for it all."

"Aw, Bella, Thank you! This is perfect! Then you can stay over for a while and I will call Alice to come over too. Then we can explain everything to you!"

"Ok, that sounds good." I was getting really anxious and worried about what they had planned.

"Ok, I will see you in PE then! Good luck in class." With that she turned around and headed towards her building.

I sighed before going into biology. I really didn't want to have to face Edward. Being that close to him while knowing deep down that he chose to be with one of the most beautiful girls here in Forks, hell, one of the most beautiful girls here in all of Washington rather than take the chance with a plain geek like me. Well, it all really hurt. It was almost comical in a way though. How on earth could I have ever let myself get my hopes up? I knew all along this would happen so I should have been prepared for it. I shouldn't be feeling like I just went through the most horrific break up on the face of the earth, even though I wasn't even with that person.

I sighed again and walked into class. I didn't even bother to look at Edward. Why should I give him that satisfaction? The look on my face would probably make him feel very self satisfied as he knew that he just lead on the school geek into thinking that they could even possibly be friends. And then he got with someone who was the total opposite of me, as if to say "ha! You actually thought that I would have any feelings at all towards you?".

I sat down at my seat and didn't bother to hide my face. I looked straight ahead to the front of the class and felt Edward's eyes on me. Go ahead and look at me. I don't care anymore!

"Hey Bella." He said. Why was he talking to me?

"Hey." Was all I said. That's all I would give him. What else did he want me to say? Did he want me to congratulate him for being with Tanya?

"Are you –" Just then Mr. Banner came into the room, cutting Edward off much to my relief. As he was making his way up to his desk, I noticed he was carrying a rather large box full of supplies. Oh, great. We have to do a lab today which means I have to work with him.

"Class, may I have your attention please?" He waited for everyone to quiet down and look at him. "I was contacted by the hospital and they informed me that they will be doing a blood drive this Saturday afternoon and they wanted me to inform you all to go donate. So, I thought it would be great to have you all know your blood types." He said and began to take out supplies from his box.

And how on earth are we going to find out our blood types? I know one thing for sure, there is no way I am donating any blood. Not unless I was knocked out to do it.

I looked at all the things he began to lay out on a table up front. That's when I saw it. He had little kits; one for each of us, and in those kits was a little pointy thing that looked like a needle. Uh – oh.

"I am going to pass out all these kits to each of you and show you how to prick your finger. Once that's done you…." I started to drown him out once he said, "prick your finger". That meant that blood would come out. _My _blood. I hated the site and smell of blood. It always made me light headed and nauseas. I remembered when I had a bad infection, my doctor had to run some blood tests and when it came time to take my blood, I passed out right in the chair!

"Bella, are you alright?" Edward asked me from my left. Oh god. Of course I'm not alright! Don't pass out, don't pass out! You can't keep passing out; people are going to start to think something's seriously wrong with you. I closed my eyes. Deep Breathes Bella. Just take some deep breathes and then excuse yourself.

"Mr. Banner? Can you come here please?" I heard Edward ask. I kept my eyes closed, still trying to get my breathing to calm down.

"Yes Mr. Cullen?" I heard Mr. Banner ask.

"I don't think Bella feels good. Is it ok if I take her to the nurse?" What? You, don't need to take me anywhere. I snapped my eyes open and saw Mr. Banner and Edward looking at me concerned. I took one last deep breath before I was sure my voice would work properly.

"Are you ok Miss Swan? Maybe you came back to school a day too early." He said. By the look on his face, I could tell I probably looked awful. But could you blame me?

"Uh, actually sir, this has nothing to do with yesterday. I just really can't be around blood." I said a little weakly. I was surprised though to hear Mr. Banner chuckle.

"There's always one student who can't handle this assignment. You may go see the nurse Miss Swan. I will right her a note explaining what we are doing in class. Would you like Mr. Cullen here to take you or do you think you can manage to get there on your own?" He asked smiling. I almost shouted ON MY OWN!

"I think I can make it there by myself. No blood has been shed yet, so I should be fine."

"Alright, let me go get you that note." He said and the walked over to his desk.

I started to get my stuff together. All of a sudden I felt someone's hand grab mine as I was putting my book in my bag. The touch of the hand sent an electric current though my whole body and sent shivers down my spine. I turned and looked at a concerned looking Edward.

"Bella, are you sure? I don't mind taking you there." He asked in a low velvety voice that sent some more shivers down my spine.

"Yes, I'm sure." I said and tried to take my hand away. He let go when he realized what I wanted. The look on his face made me puzzled. He actually looked hurt.

"Ok, here you are Miss Swan. Tonight's homework is chapter sixes review questions. Do 1-20." Mr. Banner said as he handed me my note.

"Thank you sir." I said. I didn't waste any time. I got up and left before Edward could try to pursue me into letting him walk me. And believe me, if he gave me one more look of hurt like that again, I would have accepted his offer in a heartbeat. Why would he be so hurt if I didn't want him to take me? Urgh, this has been a long day already. I wish I could go home and crawl into my comfy bed.

After I sat in the nurses' office for the rest of the period, I headed off to find Eli. She was standing in front of my biology class and appeared to be having a heated conversation with Edward because they both looked mad. As I got closer Eli looked up and saw me. It was amazing how fast her face changed from anger to pure happiness.

"Bella! There you are! I heard about what happened. Good thing you didn't pass out again eh?" She asked and gave me a hug. After she released me, I looked up and noticed that Edward was nowhere in site.

"Yeah, I would have ran away before anyone could drag me off to the hospital again." I said. "You ready for PE?"

"Yep, lets go."

PE was so embarrassing. I can't even count how many times I tripped, fell, hit someone in the head with the volleyball, and hit myself in the head with the volleyball. How I managed to do that all in one period, I have no idea. I also tried to get Eli to tell me what her and Edward were arguing about. All she said was that she would tell me when we got to her house.

"To bad Brandon's sick. I bet he won't leave his room much so he won't get to see you." Eli said as we were walking in the parking lot to my truck.

"Oh, that's too bad I guess." I said as I dug my keys out of my pocket.

"Come on Bella, I'm telling you the truth! My brother has a thing for you." She said. Before I could get in another word, I was attacked from behind by a little bouncing pixie. She was squealing like a little girl.

"Oh. My. God. This is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to tell you everything about what we are planning Bella! You are going to love it!" The pixie girl said after she let go of me.

"Hey Alice." I said a little breathless. I'm sure she could give death grip hugs just like her brother.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I ran into Alice in the hall when I was waiting for you to go to PE. I told her about coming over today and thought it would be better if she just came with us." She said a little worried. Why was she so scared? I didn't mind!

"That's fine! We might get a little cramped in my truck but I think if we put our stuff in the back it shouldn't be too uncomfortable." I said as I unlocked my door.

"Yeah! Okay, lets go!" I heard Alice say excitedly. I giggled at how enthusiastic she got over things.

We put our book bags in the back. Then, I got in and unlocked the passenger side door. Alice came in first and sat in the middle. Then Eli followed and sat in the passengers seat. Once we were settled and buckled up, I started the ignition and let the truck warm up a bit since it sat for a while. Soon enough, I pulled out of my spot and out of the Forks High parking lot and headed in the direction of Eli's house.

**AN: Whoa O_O I could have kept on writing! But, I thought it best to stop here. I knew that last chapter was long and I'm sorry, I got kind of carried away :) So, what did you think? If you don't like the whole Edward and Tanya thing, don't worry. There is a really good reason behind it and it will be explained in the next chapter. Well, leave me some reviews please my lovely and wonderful readers. Your reviews help me a lot and I really really appreciate them! Love ya!**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: I'm soooo sorry this chapter took me a while to post. I've just been busy and I had a little writer's block when it came to Eli and Alice's plan. I had the perfect one set in my mind too but it just escaped me so I settled for this one. Please leave me some reviews and let me know what you think! Okay…Enjoy! :D**

Ch.5

We pulled up to Eli's house about fifteen minutes later. The ride there was mostly full of Alice's excited chatter. We talked about most of the things we liked and what we liked to do in our spare time. I didn't even have to ask what Alice liked to do but I asked to be polite. And, of course, when Alice asked me how many pairs of shoes I had and when I only told her three, she immediately made a date to go shoe shopping.

We all got out of my truck and grabbed our stuff from the back. I looked up at the light blue two-story house. It was a very nice looking house. It almost looked Victorian and it had a giant oak tree in the front yard. The front of the house was adorned with white, yellow, and red roses and it was surrounded by forest just like Charlie's. It had a stoned walkway that led to an enclosed porch. All's that was missing was the white picket fence and then it would have been the picture perfect version of an American dream home.

We walked up the little gravel stone walkway towards the porch and white front door. Alice and Eli were busy chatting and I wasn't paying much attention to what they were talking about. I walked a little ways back from them to admire my friend's home. It was a lot more presentable than Charlie's. The cream white paint that was probably there when Charlie first bought the place was now chipping away and some of the window hedges were hanging on by nearly a thread. The lawn and bushes were a little outgrown and could be mowed and trimmed. Hmm, maybe I will do that for Charlie on Sunday.

Before I knew it, we were at the front door and Eli opened it. She moved aside and let Alice and I go ahead of her. The inside was even more beautiful than the front. There were family pictures everywhere and the furniture was antiqueish just like the look of the house. I could see a hall that led to what looked like a family room and I could see part of the dinning room as well. The stairs were to our left, which led to the second floor and to the right of the stairs was a giant kitchen.

"Welcome to my home." Eli said with a giggle. "Would you guys like something to drink or eat before we head up to my room?"

"Oh, how about we grab a few snacks and some sodas?" Alice asked. They both turned to me and waited for my answer.

"That sounds great." I said. I was still in shock at the beauty of the home. I just wanted to keep looking around.

"Perfect! Lets go see what we can find." Eli said and led the way to the kitchen.

We ended up grabbing a couple of bags of chips, a box of Oreo's, and some sodas. Once we had what we needed, Eli led the way upstairs to her room. I only managed to trip over two stairs.

Once we got to the second floor, Eli stopped in front of a door on her right, which I assumed was her room, but then she knocked. Why was she knocking?

"Brandon? I'm home from school. Did you need anything? You doing all right in there or do I have to send in a rescue squad?" She asked. Ohhh, that's why she was knocking. You, are so retarded Bella. What, did you think she was knocking to make sure she wasn't going to walk in on any ghosts or monsters? Oh Crap, that's why she was knocking, Brandon! I almost forgot! Oh, I want to run now. Run far far away.

I heard a little scuffle come from inside and then the door creaked open only to a crack. I hide behind Alice so he couldn't see me.

"Good morning sleepy head!" Alice said with a giggle from in front of me.

"Awww, Eli. Why did you have to bring that loud little menace with you? I have a horrible headache." Brandon groaned from inside. He didn't sound too sick to me though.

"Oh, poor baby. You want me to get some baby aspirin for the ittle wittle baby?" Alice said in a mocking tone. I almost laughed out loud, but thankfully I caught myself and hid a giggle behind my hand.

"Alicccee…." He said in a warning tone.

"Yesssss?" She answered back sweetly. I looked at Eli and noticed she was struggling to keep in her laughter.

"Shut – up." He said as a mater of fact

"No. Make me powder puff!" She said with a glare and crossed her arms across her chest. I was almost on the floor like Eli trying to keep my laughter silent. Brandon swung his door open all the way and stared angrily at the pixie girl in front of me.

"Oh, you're going to get it you little – " He didn't get the chance to finish because Eli cut him off.

"Ok, you two. Knock it off." She said after she controlled herself. "How are you feeling Brandon?" Brandon turned to her still not noticing that I was standing in back of Alice. Either that, or he just didn't care.

I took a better look at him when he turned away from me. His dark brown hair was an even more mess on top of his head and looked like he just rolled out of bed, which he probably did. He was wearing a plain white T- shirt and a pair of blue and red blade pajama bottoms. He looked…cute.

"I'm feeling better I guess. I mostly just have a headache and I know _someone_ who isn't helping it very much." He turned his head back at Alice, who moved away from her original spot so he was now glaring at me. Immediately his glare softened and his hazel eyes went wide with shock at the site of me. Obviously he didn't see me before and I saw a cute deep blush creep up on his cheeks. Hey, I thought I was the only one who did that?

"Oh, you know Bella right Brandon? Well, she came over here with us because we have to - uh – study, so we figured we'd do a group study." Alice said as she put an arm around my shoulder. Gosh, now I was embarrassed. Could she have made that go any smoother?

"Hey Bella." He said. His shocked expression changed to one of happiness and that heart warming smile he gave me when I first met him, graced his handsome face. I felt my knees go week and I prayed I wouldn't pass out again. I bet if Alice didn't have her arm around my shoulder, I probably would have collapsed.

"Hi." I said shyly. Alice giggled from my left and I turned and glared at her. She still kept her arm around my shoulder but she turned her head away while whistling to herself.

"Are you doing better today Bella?" I turned and looked back at Brandon. His happy expression was now placed with a more serious one.

"Uh – yeah. I'm doing a lot better. Um, how are you doing?" I asked stupidly. Duh Bella! He already said he had a headache.

"I'm glad to hear that." And by the expression on his face, I could tell that he really was. "Eh – I'm doing alright. I've had a bloody migraine all day but it's starting to get better." He said and gave me another warm smile. Darn it! Stop that!

"Oh? And I thought a certain _someone_ wasn't making it any better?" Alice asked tauntingly. "Or, maybe the site of another certain _someone_ made you feel better?" Oh Alice, what the hell are you trying to pull?

Brandon stared at her dumbly at first, as if he was trying to figure out what she just said. Once he did he looked at her in shock. I couldn't help it. I giggled along with Alice and Eli.

"What? Oh, you are going to get it pixie dust!" He said angrily and lunged for her.

Alice screamed and took her arm from around me only to grab my shoulders with both of her hands. She moved me in front of her where I acted as her "shield". Oh, wait to go Alice! Brandon nearly grabbed me, but thankfully he saw what Alice did in time.

"What are you chicken? You have to hide behind Bella?" He asked her with a smirk.

"No! I'm not a chicken!" Alice countered back.

"Oh, yeah? Prove it! Let Bella go." He said slyly, the smirk still evident on his face.

"No! Make me!" Alice said and stuck her tongue out like a little girl.

"See, told you! You're chicken!" His gaze then turned to me. "Bella, do you think you could move to the side for just a second so I can get that little annoying…"

Alice letting go of me cut him off. She moved me gently to the side and quickly bolted right passed Brandon towards another room down the hall. Whoa, she was like a little mouse. She ran right passed him before he could even comprehend that she was no longer in front of him. And when he realized it, his face was hilarious!

"Ha Ha Ha! Eat my pixie dust migraine boy!" She said as she ran into what looked like a bathroom and shut the door.

Eli and I were practically grabbing one of the walls for support because we were laughing so hard. Brandon didn't help ease it much either. He still had that dumbfounded look on his face like he was trying to figure out how she got passed him so quickly.

"Oh my…" Eli said as she was trying to catch her breath and wipe the tears from her eyes. "Come on Bella, it looks like he's going to be out here for a while trying to figure out how Alice just "disappeared" in front of his eyes."

She grabbed my hand and led me to the opposite room from Brandon's. Our movement seemed to snap Brandon out of his thinking.

"Bella wait! Uh – " I stopped and turned around to look at him. He was looking at me nervously trying to figure out what to say next.

"What Brandon? Get on with it we need to go "study"." Eli said. She took the bag of chips I was holding and put them in her room with the other snacks, leaving me alone in the hallway with Brandon.

"So…what are you guys studying?" He asked me as he took one of his hands and ran it through his messy hair. Uh oh. What do I tell him? I don't have any classes with Alice!

"We are study for none of your business." Eli answered for me as she came back into the hall. "Alice! Come on and get your butt out of the bathroom already!" She shouted towards the bathroom.

"No! Not until your brother apologizes for calling me a chicken!" Alice said with a hurtful tone. But, I could have sworn I heard a little giggle.

Brandon walked down the hall towards the bathroom. When he knocked on the door loudly, we heard a familiar "Eeek!" come from inside. I looked at Eli and she grinned back at me.

"Alice! I am not apologizing so I guess your going to have to spend all day in there. I know you're too scared to come out and face me, but come on. This just proves how much of a chicken you really are!"

"Ha, Why would I be scared of you twinkle toes?" She asked. Twinkle toes? Where the hell did Alice get that from?

Alice finally opened the door. When she walked, her arms were crossed around her chest and she wore that evil glare that shrunk anyone away into nothingness if they were on the other side of it.

"Well –ah –because – I –" Brandon stuttered out. Whoa. He looked scared!

I could visibly see him back away and walk back towards us. Alice followed, arms still crossed, and glare still set in place. Brandon was now in front of his room trying to find the door handle.

"Well, are you going to answer me? " Alice asked in a menacing tone. Wow, note to self - don't get on Alice's bad side, even if she's just kidding.

"Ok Alice, I think you had enough fun with my brother for one day." Eli said, now she definitely had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

Alice looked at us and almost immediately; Alice's evil devil mask was placed with a perfect Alice angel. Seeing this as an opportunity to get away, Brandon hurriedly made the rest of the way into his room and closed the door.

Alice and I followed Eli into her room. Once Eli's door was closed, we all burst out into fits of laughter. Alice collapsed on top of Eli's bed holding her sides while Eli slid onto the floor in front of the door and I was holding onto her dresser for support.

"Oh –laugh - my. Did –laugh – did you see his –laugh- face?" Eli somehow managed to get out.

"I know –laugh -. He looked as if he was going to –laugh- pee his pants!" Alice said as she held onto her sides more as she continued laughing. She was laughing so hard that she fell right off the edge of Eli's bed and landed with a loud "uff" on the floor. We all paused for one second and then burst out laughing again. Then suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Eli?" I heard a woman's voice ask form behind the door. We all quieted down. Alice picked herself up from the floor and at back down on Eli's bed while Eli got up from her position on the floor and then opened the door. A woman about three inches taller than Eli stood outside her door. She had long dark beautiful brown hair that was softly curled and had stunning green eyes.

"Hey Mom." Eli said a little breathlessly. She was still trying to catch it from all the laughing.

"Eli, honey. I'm going to head over to Marcie's. I have dinner in the oven and it should be done by the time I get back. Did you need anything before I go?" Her mom asked.

"Oh, ok. I don't really need anything. But before you go, I want you to meet someone. Bella?" Eli said and she looked at me – motioning for me to come stand next to her.

"Mom, this is Bella Swan. She's the new student that I went to the hospital with yesterday? Bella, this is my mom, Lillian." Eli said with a smile, as she looked back and forth between us two.

"Oh, Bella! It's so nice to finally meet you! Eli and Brandon have told us so much about you sweetie. And, I am so sorry about what happened yesterday. I am glad it was my daughter there with you though. How are you feeling?" She asked as she stepped forward and surprised me when she gave me a hug.

"It's nice to meet you too Mrs. Perkins. I am glad Eli was there too and I am feeling a lot better today." I said smiling at the motherly woman when she released me from her hug.

"I'm so glad to here that dear. And please, call me Lillian. Mrs. Perkins makes me feel too old." She said with a giggle. I giggled back. I could immediately tell where Eli's personality came from.

"Well, I should be going. It was nice to meet you Bella." She said and gave me one last hug. She then turned to Alice. "And Alice, you aren't causing any problems up here are you? Because I could have sworn I heard something that sounded faintly like your voice saying, "eat my pixie dust"?" Lillian said and raised her eyebrow. Oh, and look where Eli gets that knowing smile from too!

"Oh – uh – nope. No problems here Lillian. Uh - I was just reenacting a scene from ah – _Peter Pan_!" She said and nodded her head at the end as if to reassure herself as well as Lillian.

"Oh Alice, you are something else." She said with a laugh. "Well, I'm off now."

"Mom wait! Where's dad?" Eli asked just as her mom turned around to leave.

"Oh, he went to go get a new battery for your car. When he gets back he will probably put it in so you should be able to drive it in the morning."

"Ok. Thanks mom. See ya later." Eli said and then closed her door. She then turned to us and smiled.

"Well, before we get started on telling Bella our little plan here, I think we should get some homework done first." She said as she walked over and sat down in front of her bed with her book bag. I followed in suit while Alice stayed on the bed. It probably was a good idea to get some homework done. Today I had math, health, and biology to do.

"Awww, can't we do homework _after _we tell Bella?" Alice whined impatiently from her perch on Eli's bed.

"No, we should get homework done first. I know you Alice, you will get all carried away and then we won't have _anytime_ left to do homework. Now, get to work before I come over there and shred your credit cards into millions of tiny little pieces. Then how are you going to shop?" Eli warned. Alice just looked at her in shock at first, probably trying to decide whether or not Eli would actually do that to her precious credit cards but then she stuck her tongue out at Eli before she grabbed her books from her book bag and started on her homework. I just shook my head. What is up with that girl and shopping?

"So Bella, how long do you think you could stay?" Eli asked me a few minutes later into our homework. I started with math so I could get it out of the way.

"Uh, well. I should be home by five thirty. My dad hardly ever cooks for himself so I do it." And, Charlie didn't know that I was here so if I wasn't there by the time he got home, he'd probably send the police out to look for me. Oh wait, he is the police! DUH BELLA! Jeez, sometimes I wonder about myself…

"That's fine. Alice? What time is it?" Eli asked. Alice pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and looked at the front display.

"It is now, four oh five." Alice said and she held out her cell phone so we could see.

"Ok, so how about we work on homework till about – uh – I don't know. A quarter to five?" Eli asked us. "That should give us at least a half an hour of 'Bella explaining time'."

"Ok! Sounds good! I will put an alarm on my phone to let us know when time is up" Alice said.

After she was done, we got back to work on our homework. We occasionally talked here and there. Well, especially Alice. I don't think that girl can sit still for at least two minutes.

I was so engrossed in my health homework that I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a loud beeping and buzzing noise come from Alice. What on earth? She really is a pixie!

"Yay! Pens down, papers away, its times up my peeps!" Alice said excitedly and immediately began to put all her things away. Eli rolled her eyes and I giggled as I closed my health book.

After all our work and books were put away, Alice came down and sat with us on the floor.

"So Bella, you ready to hear our little plan?" Alice asked me deviously. She put her hands together and I laughed. She looked strangely like Mr. Burns from the _Simpson's._

"Um, I guess so. I'm kind of scared." I said.

"Oh, trust us Bella! This is going to be great! So, first off, I think we should tell her _all_ the things Edward has said about her." Alice said giggling in anticipation. _All _the things he's said about me? What on earth did he have to say about me? It was probably something along the lines of she's a geek, a loser, a klutz, a nerd, socially challenged, unattractive, too plain, too pale, and one of the most boring girls on this planet.

"Your right. You ready for this Bella? I'm just making sure you aren't going to pass out or choke on anything when you hear this." Eli teased. I rolled my eyes. Now I was getting just as impatient as Alice.

"Yes! I'm ready to hear it already!" I said.

"Okay! Well, I think Alice should start since she is the one he talked to first about you. Alice, would you like to take over from here?" Eli asked with a smile.

"Certainly!" She said and started to bounce up and down. I swear, I should nick name her Tigger. "Ok I will start with what happened on Monday. Well, at lunch we were sitting at our lunch table when you walked in. Edward looked at me and asked me who you were. I said you were the new student that transferred here from Arizona. He didn't say anything else after that, but I kept sneaking glances at him and I kept seeing him staring at you when you weren't looking.

"Then, at the end of the day, I met Edward at his car. I noticed he looked pretty upset and at first he wouldn't tell me why. But then as we were on our way home, he asked me if he had something wrong with him because he saw you in the office and over heard you trying to change out of his biology class. He had a feeling it was because of him. I asked him why it bothered him so much and he said that he didn't want to upset you. He said when you bumped into him at lunch, he felt a sort of connection with you. And then when he saw you in biology, he was so happy that he was going to have you as his lab partner. But, he noticed how uncomfortable you were around him and he figured you didn't like him." Alice finished.

I was completely shocked. How could he feel a connection with me? What kind of connection did he feel exactly? Was it like the same thing I felt? This is so confusing and frustrating! And, why was he so upset that I tried to change out of our biology class? Why should he care when he has Tanya now?

I looked up and saw Eli and Alice looking at me concerned. Alice crawled over and sat next to me while Eli sat on my other side.

"Aw, Bella. Why are you crying? I'm sorry I upset you but I thought this news would make you happy." Alice said as she gave me a side hug. I took my hand and wiped away the wet tears on my cheeks. I was so deep in thought I hadn't even realized I was crying. Stupid traitor tears!

"It's ok Alice. I just didn't realize that I upset him. I really didn't think that he would care whether or not I got transferred out of his class." I said with a sniffle.

"Bella, he likes you. Trust me. Let me tell you my side and what he said when he came over here on Monday and after I left the hospital on Tuesday." Eli said I turned and looked at her as she began to tell her side.

"On Monday when I just got home from running errands for my mom, Edward came over. I figured he was there to talk to Brandon but instead he came to talk to me. He told me about how he met a new girl at school and her name was, drum roll please…Bella Swan. He said, and I swear these were his exact words, "You should have been there Eli - she is one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. " I was happy for him of course because like I told you yesterday at lunch, he never really showed any interest in girls since I've been here. But, I noticed he didn't look so happy about it. He said that he was upset because the one girl that he likes at Forks High hates him and can't even stand sitting next to him in class." Eli said.

Holy freaking crow! Hold up here. Did I just hear all that correctly? Did she just say that he thought I was one of the most beautiful girls he has ever seen? Did he really say that I was the only girl in Forks High that he had feelings for? Oh. My. God. This – this can't be true. Maybe he means a different Bella Swan. Yeah, that has to be it. Oh, don't be stupid Bella! You are probably the only Bella Swan in this whole entire state!

"Bella, you aren't going to pass out on me again are you? Because you look as white as a ghost." Eli said with a nervous giggle. Alice just looked at me, waiting for what I had to say. I really didn't know what to say. What was there to say? That I was happy? Ecstatic? Maybe it just hasn't fully sunk in yet. I was really too shocked but the truth was, no matter how much I wished for someone like Edward to like me, even as just a friend, I still had that painful feeling in my chest and I knew exactly why. One word…. Tanya.

"Bella?" Eli and Alice both asked me. I looked up at their concerned faces.

"I'm not going to pass out. I – I just, I just don't know what to say. I – I'm…"

"Bella, what's wrong? You can tell us. That's why we are here. We care for both you and Edward and that's why we are trying to get this whole mess cleaned up between you two. We honestly think that you two will be great for each other." Alice said with a warm smile.

I couldn't believe how caring Alice sounded. I just met her and again like Eli, I feel like we have been friends forever.

"I know, I'm just - confused. What about…Tanya?" Once the name Tanya came from my lips, Alice's angel mask was replaced with the devils.

"Bella, you don't know how sorry I am that Edward had to turn to her for your attention. He is so stupid; I couldn't believe he is so oblivious to how you feel about him." Alice said angrily

"What – what do you mean he had to turn to her for my attention?" I asked confused.

What the hell was going on? I thought I gave him plenty attention. Did I not stare at him enough? Did I not look dreamily eyed at him while my mouth hung open like a flytrap? God this was so frustrating! I should stop this all right now. I will end up hurt anyway, just like I did at lunch today. There is no way I want to have to experience that heart wrenching feeling again.

"Bella, he feels like you don't like him. He said that every time he tries to talk to you, you look away from him or when ever he looks at you, you have a look on your face like your trying to block him out." Eli said before she added. "Now, I'm not saying that you don't or anything, I'm just telling you what he told me."

"He feels like I don't like him? I look away from him because I don't want him to see my stupid blush or embarrassed look I always have on my face. And half the time when I knew he was looking at me, I was trying to figure out why the hell he was doing it in the first place." I explained, still confused. Gosh, I hope she has some Tylenol because I can tell all this confusion is going to give me a headache!

"Exactly! I was trying to tell him that today after I saw him outside your biology class. He was chewing me out about why Mike was sitting next you at lunch and he definitely was not happy when we were suggesting getting you and my brother together. But, I told him if he cared, then he wouldn't be with Tanya. He didn't get to say anything after that because you showed up." Eli said and she looked almost as angry as she had when I saw the two of them arguing today.

"Yep, he is just doing all of this Tanya business to get to you Bella. He thinks that if you see him with her, then maybe you will pay more attention to him. But, he doesn't realize he made a huge mistake." Alice added and then she had a sparkly look in her eye that told me she was up to something. "And, he also doesn't realize that two can play at that game."

"What? What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Bella, it's time to tell you about our little plan." Alice said gleefully. Oh crap. All this talk about Edward and all the confusion made me forget about _their little plan_. Well, come on girls, bring it.

"Bella, please here us out before you say anything okay?" Eli asked me. I just nodded wanting to get this over with.

"Ok, we can tell that you like Edward but we can also tell that you like Brandon. So, how about you give Brandon a try? Trust me Bella, he is a great guy and I know he will not hurt you." I was about to protest but Eli cut me off. "Bella, think about it. I know for a fact that Edward doesn't have feelings for Tanya but what if Edward falls in love with her while they are dating? Where will that leave you?"

Oh my. What if he did? I wouldn't bet against it. Eli was probably right. He will end up seeing how beautiful, perfect, stunning, and gorgeous she was. Then, he will look at plain old me and wonder how he could have ever thought I was more beautiful than her. What the hell was I thinking?

"So…" Eli continued. "We think that if you give Brandon a try and Edward really does fall for Tanya, then you will have my brother to love instead. Trust me Bella, my brother really likes you and I know you do too! I saw the way you were looking at him when he came up to our lunch table yesterday." She smiled and nudged my shoulder.

"Yeah! And you should have seen yourselves in the hallway earlier. It was soooo cute!' Alice said with an elated giggle. "Bella, if it doesn't work out with Brandon, than it doesn't work out. And, if it does, then that's great because you both found someone to love. But what we are really aiming for here is that Edward will break it off with Tanya and then you two can finally end up together."

"But – what about Brandon? I can't just use him like that!" I said. I wasn't going to use someone just to get to a guy that will probably soon forget all about me because he has the most perfect girlfriend at the moment.

"Bella, it won't be using him…technically. You both like each other and who knows! If Edward does break it off with Tanya and you still have feelings for my bother than by all means, be happy and stay with him! That's what we want for you Bella, we want you to be happy." Eli said.

"I don't know guys. I think I have to think about this more. I'm just – really confused at the moment." I sighed. What was I going to do? I couldn't hurt Brandon just to get my way. It's not right, he deserves better than that. Heck, anyone deserves better than that!

"We understand Bella." Alice said as she patted my shoulder. "You can go to Mike's bon fire with us and get to know Brandon more. Maybe that will help you make your decision but we don't want you sitting around moping because Edward's with some bimbo tramp. We want you to be happy Bella. Please, at least think about it." Alice said and pouted out her lips. Evil - damn pixie. Why did she have to be so darn cute?

"Okay. I will think about it. And as for the beach, I still have to ask my dad if I can go." After I said this both girls gave out little squeals beside me and then the next thing I knew, they were both crushing me in a sandwich hug.

"Yay! Okay, so we definitely need to plan out Saturday! I think we should definitely meet at Bella's. I want to make sure she has something cute to wear!" Alice said excitedly. Oh great. I better not let her see what's inside my closet. She will probably set fire to all my clothes and go out and by me a whole new set.

"That sounds good. I will pick you up Alice and then we will pick up Bella. I don't know if Brandon will be riding with us or with Mike so we will have to wait until then." Eli said just as excited. Was I the only one in this room who wasn't? It felt like dooms day was coming.

"Oh crap! What time is it?" I asked. It felt like we were talking for hours and I needed to definitely be home before six!

"It's…. five twenty five. Oh no, Bella. I'm sorry we didn't stop sooner. We just got carried away." Alice apologized.

"It's ok. I will just stop at the diner I saw on my way here and pick something up so I don't have to cook. But, I really should be going." I said and got up to gather my things.

"Ok Bella. I can't wait till Saturday! It's going to be so much fun. Let us know tomorrow at school what your dad says." Eli said as she got up along with Alice from their spots on the floor.

They both walked me out to my truck and said goodbye and told me they would see me at school tomorrow. Once I got in my truck, I drove to the diner that I saw on my way to Eli's house and picked up a couple of burgers and fries. Luckily when I pulled up to Charlie's house, his cruiser wasn't parked in the drive way yet. Once inside, I set the food on the kitchen counter and took my stuff upstairs. By the time I got everything put away and I washed up, I heard the front door open and close.

"Bella! You home?" Charlie yelled from down stairs. Nope, I'm not home. My truck is only parked out front. It drove its' self here from school and left me stranded to fend for myself.

"Yeah, I'm home dad." I said as I made my way down stairs. Charlie was already in the kitchen and I couldn't help but laugh at how confused he looked. What was he doing? He just stood there in the middle of the kitchen looking around like he was missing something.

"Oh, hey Bells." He said when he noticed me standing in the doorway. "Uh – what's for dinner?" he asked. Ohhhh…. poor thing probably thought I was going to starve him.

"It's on the counter dad. I hope you don't mind but I went over to Eli's to do some homework. I decided to just pick something up since I was running kind of late." I said and walked over to a cupboard to get some plates and cups.

"Oh, ok. Yeah, that's fine. I'm glad you made yourself a friend Bella. I know Eli's parents and they are good people. Plus, she seems really nice." Charlie said as he got both of us something to drink and then he took his usual spot. I walked over and put both of our plates of burgers and fries on the table.

"Yeah, she really is. Um – did you want some ketchup?" I asked before I sat down.

"Sure." He said between a bite of his burger.

Dinner went pretty quiet. We mostly ate in silence and then he occasionally asked questions about my day and about Eli. I told him about Alice and it seemed like he liked her family as much as Eli's. When I finished up with dishes I was just about to go upstairs when I remembered about the bon fire. I walked into the living room where Charlie sat on the couch watching some game on TV. I went over to the armchair and sat.

"Hey - uh – dad?" I asked. He muted the TV and turned to look at me.

"Yeah Bells?"

"Um, I was wondering. Eli, Alice and I got invited to go to the beach on Saturday for a bon fire, and I was wondering if I could go?" I asked hesitantly. I didn't think he would say no, but there was still that chance.

"Oh – uh – what beach?"

"Some beach in La Push."

"Isn't it a little cold for the beach?" Gosh, what is with the police interrogation? I was going to the beach, not committing a crime!

"Oh um, well, I think we are suppose to have good weather that day actually."

"Oh. Well – okay. I will probably be out fishing with some guys from the police station anyway so I think it would be good for you to get out of the house and have some fun."

"Okay! Thanks dad. I will see you in the morning." I said and got up to walk over to the stairs.

"Alright Bells, goodnight."

"Goodnight dad."

When I got in my room I finished up the homework I didn't get to finish at Eli's. I am so glad Eli suggested getting homework done. I would have been up all night finishing it! After I was done, I got ready for bed. Once I was in my little comfy haven, my mind began to wonder towards Eli and Alice's little plan.

Should I give Brandon a try? They weren't wrong, I do like Brandon but I don't want to use him. It's not right. But, what Eli said came back to me. It wouldn't be using him technically because if I did fall for him, then I could stay with him. And if I didn't then, we would break it off. It would be the same if Edward did break it off with Tanya because he wanted to be with me - which he probably won't – and if I didn't have feelings for Brandon, then I would tell him and then give it some time. After that, I could be with my god like angel. Gosh, this was all chaos! I still need to think about all of this. All right, I will go to the beach on Saturday and get to know Brandon better. Then, I can make a decision from there. I just hope no one will get hurt from all of this mess.

**AN: There yah have it, Ch.5!! Sorry, I know this chapter is a lot shorter than my other ones but I wanted to do the beach scene in a different one. I hope you all like it and I'm sorry if the whole Edward/Tanya/Brandon thing is confusing or annoying but this is how I saw it go down in my head and I will try and make it a lot clearer in the next chapters to come. Ch.6 will be up a lot sooner and it will be a lot longer, I promise. Well, let me know what you think pretty pretty please! I love to hear your reviews, they mean a lot and they keep me going :)**

**AN #2: (Twilight Movie Review –If you haven't seen it you might not want to read this then because it may contain spoilers) OH. MY. GOD. I loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought the actors did a really great job and I admit, I was a little iffy on Robert being Edward but oh my, he could so be my Edward any day!  
I also thought it was a little more comical then I would have expected it to be.**

**But, I won't lie when I admit I got pissed at some parts. They left out wayyyyy too much and some things just confused me. Lol, like the field trip scene! Where the hell was that in the book? Poor Jasper, how the hell do they expect him to ride in a crowded bus full of people? And I pictured the meadow scene different. I was also waiting for the part when Bella almost passes out in biology but that never came. And I thought the whole hotel room scene was cut way too short and what happened to the airport?**

**Lol, well other than these things and a few others, I did really like it though. I can't wait to see the next ones and I hope they stick more to the books!!**

**One of my fav parts in the film:**

**Billy Black: "I'm keeping it real." Charlie Swan: "Oh yeah, you're the bomb."**

**XD Who knew Billy Black was hysterical! **

**PS: HAPPY LATE THANKSGIVING!!!!!**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: Yay, I finally got chapter 6 done and yes; the beach scene is included in this chapter! I hope you all like it and I hope the whole thing between Bella/Edward/Brandon/Tanya will be at least a little clearer in this chapter. If not, then I hope I can clarify it in more chapters to come. Well, watcha waiting for? Enjoy!!**

**PS: A HUGE thank you to all of my reviewers! I love you all and I wish I could give you all big Emmett bear hugs for helping me get through writing this story! But, I hope you will all settle for a virtual one instead. So here it is *gives big Emmett bear hug but pulls away before squishing you to death* hehe Love ya! :D**

Ch.6

The rest of the school week seemed to drag by and I found myself more confused and depressed than ever. I sat with everyone at the same table at lunch and Brandon would usually sit next to me with Eli on my other side. Brandon came back the day after I went to Eli's and ever since then he has been hanging out with us. We would talk about things like our interests and hobbies and he would usually walk me to my classes. I enjoyed his company more than I thought I would. It seems like I should be jumping up and down with joy that Brandon would even show interest in me but it confused me. And, what made me depressed was the one person I wished to be with the most, Edward. Sure, he would smile and say "Hi" to me when we saw each other in the halls or at lunch and biology. I also caught him staring at me a few times during lunch and I couldn't help but catch the glare he would always send Brandon when we were talking or walking with one another. But, "Hi" was all he would really say to me. In biology I thought he would make small talk with me like he usually tried to do but he would only talk to me if we needed to discuss something for the labs. It seemed what Eli was saying was coming true a lot sooner then I thought. He was already getting over me and it was only Friday. Even though I knew this was bound to happen, I still couldn't help but feel like my heart was being ripped to shreds every time I would see him and Tanya together.

"Bella? Earth to Bella. BELLA!" I heard someone scream from my side. I looked to my left and saw Alice staring at me with a weird look on her face. School was out and Alice, Eli, Brandon and I were walking to my truck in the parking lot.

"Are you here with us now Bella?" Alice asked me with a giggle, which caused everyone else to laugh.

"Um – yeah. What were you saying?" I asked Alice a little confused. I swear, I was so deep in my thoughts I didn't even hear her say anything to me.

"Are you ok Bella? You seem a little distracted?" Brandon asked me from my other side and stopped when we reached my truck. I turned to him and noticed that he looked concerned.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking was all." I told him with a smile, which earned me one of his heartwarming smiles that made my knees go weak. Once I regained the use of my legs, I then turned back to Alice. "So, what were you saying?"

"I was saying, oh my god! The beach outing is tomorrow! I'm so excited I can't wait! Aren't you excited?" Alice asked me while she bounced up and down.

"Um – yeah. Sure." I said and then distracted myself as I dug through my book bag to look for my keys.

"Aw, come on now Bella. You are going to have so much fun with us!" Eli said. "You are going to have to go through Fun Rehab on Sunday from all the fun you will be having."

"Yeah! Don't worry Bella. All though, I could understand why you could be a little reluctant to hang out with this little evil leprechaun." He said and smiled evilly at Alice.

"Shut it Brandon!" Alice screamed and then smacked him on his shoulder. I laughed. He was still upset about how she embarrassed him on Wednesday when we were all laughing at how scared he got of a little pixie girl. They started to argue more so Eli came over to my side.

"So, you have just finished and survived your first week here at Forks High School! How does it feel? Any big plans to celebrate?" Eli asked me in a news reporter voice while holding her hand up as if she was talking in a microphone. Then, she moved her hand in front of me waiting for my answer.

"Well, I feel like I'm the luckiest person alive. Who knew that I could find people to help me survive the torment of this hell trap that they call "school". As for celebrations, I'm going to Disneyland!" I said with a laugh and threw my hands up in the air.

"Wait – what? We are going to Disneyland?" Alice asked excitedly when she snapped into our conversation.

"No Alice, I was just joking." I said and giggled when Alice looked disappointed.

"Aw, anyway Brandon…." She turned back to him and they continued arguing while I went back to my conversation with Eli.

"Seriously though, don't you feel great? I remember my first week. I really didn't think I would survive but when Friday came a long, I literally started to sing Hallelujah to the clouds!" Eli said. She was right though. By the way my week first started out, I really didn't think I would end up with three great friends, two – well one that I really know of – popular guy show interest in me, and have a spot at the popular table.

"I know what you mean. I'm surprised I only managed to humiliate myself – oh – what? Fifty something times?" I asked with wittiness and Eli laughed.

"Well, I'm glad I could be your night in shinning armor Bella. Without me, your ante would be up to more than a hundred!" Eli joked and we both laughed.

"WELL YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A - A – GRRR, YOU ARE JUST FRUSTRATING!" Alice's yell broke through our conversation and we both turned to look at Brandon and Alice who were now really fighting and not joking.

"Whoa - whoa you two. That's enough." Eli said as she stepped in between the two. "Brandon, you ready to go home?"

"Yeah, let's go." Brandon said snappily. He didn't even turn to me to say goodbye, he just strolled off to Eli's car without a word or glance.

"I'm sorry Bella, but I have to go. Don't worry about Brandon, he's just upset with Alice." Eli said as she gave me a hug. "I will see you at your house around nine thirty okay? And I will pick you up around nine okay Alice?"

"Okey Dokey!" She said. Her good mood was set back in place. I can't believe how this girl could change her moods so fast.

"All right. I'll see you two tomorrow." Eli said and turned to walk towards her car where Brandon was waiting impatiently.

Alice and I both watched as she reached her car and walked over to Brandon. It looked like she asked him something while she pointed in our direction and when he answered she smacked him upside the back of his head. Alice and I burst out laughing. He then turned to look at us and he smiled at me and waved.

"BYE BELLA! SEE YOU TOMORROW!" he yelled from his spot before he got into the passenger side of Eli's car.

"BYE!" I yelled back and turned back to Alice laughing. Eli waved bye at us before she got in her car and we continued watching until Eli pulled out of the parking lot and we couldn't see her anymore.

"God Bella, I'm so glad you're here for Brandon. That dude seriously needs a girlfriend." Alice said exasperatedly and giggled from my side. I turned to her with a horrified expression on my face.

"Alice, I never said I was going to be..."

"I know, I know. We will just have see about that though. Wait until _after_ tomorrow." She interrupted me with a smile.

"Are you waiting for Edward? Or would you like a ride home?" I asked quickly trying to change the subject. Gosh, I love her, but she could get a little annoying when it came time to interrupting your love life. Psh! What love life?

"There is no way in hell you could get me in the same car as him if Tanya's with him. But, Jasper is going to give me a ride home. Thank you for the offer though Bella." She said kindheartedly.

I was just about to say something else when Jasper came up from behind Alice. He looked at me and put a finger to his lips telling me not to say anything. He then placed his hands around her eyes and leaned in by her ear. Alice squeaked when she could no longer see me but soon her face lit up when Jasper spoke.

"Guess who?" He whispered lovingly into her ear. Awww, they could be so cute.

"Eeek! Jasper!" Alice squealed as she whirled around and threw her arms around jasper neck.

"You ready to go?" He asked her and kissed her cheek.

I was beginning to feel uncomfortable as I watched them stare and act all lovey dovey with one another. So, I just stood off to the side awkwardly. I was just about to turn away from the two when I felt a pair of eyes burning wholes into my back. I turned around and met the eyes of the only person I knew with piercing green eyes that seemed to seek every inner thought and secret in you. I felt a chill run up my spine as I stared back at Edward. He was standing across the parking lot, leaning up against his Volvo. He just stood there and stared at me with an unreadable mask. What on earth was he staring at? What, was he making fun of me in his head or something? And, where's his precious Tanya? I looked at the blonde on the other side of his car talking animatedly on her cell phone while playing with her hair. The site of her made my heart drop all over again and I turned and glared at Edward. His unreadable mask faltered into a look of shock but I didn't care. Why was he staring at me when he had his precious Barbie next to him?

"Bella? We are going to get going now." Alice said from in front of me. I turned back to her and I noticed her looking at me apprehensively. She must have noticed me staring like a hopeless puppy at her brother.

"Alright. I will see you tomorrow."

"Yep. Me and Eli will be there right at nine thirty." She said and let go of Jasper to give me a hug.

"Ok. But, I thought that Mike's Bon Fire doesn't start until noon? Why are you guys coming over so early?" I asked when I realized I forgot to when Eli told me.

"Because silly Bella. I want to make sure you look cute tomorrow for Brandon. I have the perfect outfit that I bought for you yesterday when I went shopping so don't bother to get dressed until we get there." She warned.

"Alice! Why did you buy me something? I have my own clothes to wear you know?" I said a little crossly. She didn't have to go out and spend money on me.

"Bella. I don't mind! Just be thankful I didn't drag you along with me to get it!" She said. I sighed, she was right and I was thankful for that. I'm still dreading the day she's going to drag me around a mall.

"Okay – okay. I will see you tomorrow." I sighed. She gave me another hug and didn't let go while she talked.

"It will be alright Bella. Don't let Edward get to you. If he wants to treat you this way, then maybe he doesn't deserve you. But, just give him some time and just to warn you him and Tanya will be there tomorrow." She said and then pulled away with a frown on her face.

"Okay? See you tomorrow Bella." She gave me a small smile and walked back over to Jasper and grabbed his hand.

"Bye Bella." Jasper said and waved at me.

"Bye Jasper. See you tomorrow Alice." I said and watched as they both turned to walk to wherever Jasper was parked.

I could still feel Edwards's eyes on my back as I made my way to the driver's side of my truck. Once I got myself inside after fumbling with my keys, I let out a huge sigh. I was still dreading tomorrow. And Alice's news about Edward and Tanya being there didn't help my situation any. I knew though deep down that I shouldn't let all this bother me, that I should just let it all go and move on. After tomorrow, who knows? I might actually fall for Brandon even more than I am now. But, Edwards's words that he said to Eli about me kept repeating themselves in my head. If Edward really did feel those things for me, then why wouldn't he just try to get to know me better? Why couldn't he tell me those things to my face? Why go and turn to Tanya to try and get my attention when he could receive it all with a simple hello? But then my stomach started to turn into uncomfortable knots when I realized that I would be doing the same thing with Brandon that he was doing with Tanya.

"Bel-la…wake up sleepy head." What the? That wasn't the sound of the evil alarm clock. Was I dreaming? And why on earth did I hear giggling? What's going on?

"Bel-la…come on, wake up." The voice sang to me. Ok, I am definitely not dreaming! Someone was in my room!

"Bella! Come on I know you are awake now get up!" I jumped up startled, into a sitting position on my bed and looked around my room widely. Who the hell?

That's when my eyes landed on two girls standing by the left side of my bed, Alice and Eli. Alice was the one calling to me to wake up. She had her hands on her hips and she was looking at me with an impatient look on her face while Eli stood by her side giggling at the site of me.

"What –what the? How the hell did you get in here?" I asked breathlessly.

"Your dad let us in. He said you were still sleeping and he was heading out the door so he told us to head on up." Eli said still giggling.

"What time is it?" I asked with a yawn. My alarm clock hasn't even gone off yet. Oh wait a minute. Yes it did. I ended up just hitting the snooze button.

"It's nine forty you bum. Now get out of bed!" Alice said. I winced; her voice this early in the morning when you first wake up puts a real damper on your mood.

I groaned and grabbed the covers that fell off the bed from me thrashing around widely trying to figure out who broke into my room. I then pulled them tightly over my head and laid back down. I don't care if it was nine forty in the bloody morning. I didn't get much sleep last night because I was still dreading about today and I felt like I could sleep for hours.

"Oh no you don't!" I heard Alice say. Then suddenly I was met with a cold draft as Alice and Eli both yanked the covers from my body.

"Oh, come on! Let me sleep for a half an hour more and then you can do whatever you want with me Alice, but I need sleep!" I whinnied and tried to grab my covers again. Alice took them before I could even get to them. Oh you little…

"No! I want to make sure you will be ready on time now get out of bed." She said angrily. I didn't move. I just laid there and curled up into a little ball waiting for sleep to welcome me back.

"Oh, that's it. I see we have to go to drastic measures then. Okay, that's fine with me. But, I can guarantee _you_ will not like this so I think it would be best if you just surrender now and get out of bed." Alice said eerily calm. What was she up to? Ahh, I don't care, I need sleep! I just remained quiet in my little ball of peace.

"Okay, hear it goes..." I felt the wait of my bed shift as Alice got on my bed and both her arms surrounded me making her tower over me. Then, that's when I heard the most awful thing on this whole entire planet!

"Bella's a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world. Life in plastic! It's Fantastic!" She started to sing in my ear. Oh. My. God. Make it stop!

"Ugh…" I sighed and grabbed my pillow and stuck it over my ears and screamed, "IM NOT LISTENING!" She didn't stop; she only got louder.

"YOU CAN BRUSH HER HAIR, UNDRESS HER ANYWHERE!" She was still singing. So, I tried to drown her out.

"LA LA LA LA. I'M NOT LISTENING!"

"IMAGINATION…."

"LA LA LA LA LA…"

"LIFE IS YOUR CREATION!"

"LA LA LA. STILL NOT LISTENING!" Oh my, shoot me, shoot me now!

"COME ON BELLA, LETS GO PARTY!" She started to jump up and down on the bed.

"OH MY GOD!" I screamed and sat up. I can't take it anymore! This was the worst wake up call ever! A thousand times worse than my evil alarm clock from hell. No, scratch that. Alice _is_ the evil alarm clock from hell! I jumped off the bed and threw my pillow at her. "I'm up – I'm up!"

"Oh –my. That had to be one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen! I wish I would have got that on film!" Eli said. I turned and glared at her. She was sitting on the floor and I noticed she must have collapsed from laughing because her face was bright red and she had tears in her eyes.

"Oh, well I'm glad I could be your guys' source of morning amusement." I said sarcastically.

"Oh come on grumpy pants. I had to do it or else you would have never got out of bed." Alice said with a giggle. I could tell she enjoyed it just as much as Eli. "Now, go take a shower and when you come back, It's Bella Barbie time! Wait until you see the outfit I got you!" She said as she jumped off my bed.

"I swear Alice, you promise me you will never sing that song again or else I will lock myself in that bathroom and never come out!" I warned as I grabbed my stuff to get ready.

"Okay, I promise. Now get your butt in the shower. And don't take too long, we don't have that much time and I don't want to be late!" She said as she started to push me out the door.

After my almost peaceful shower, I wrapped myself in a towel and headed back to my bedroom. I say almost peaceful because Alice kept banging on the door every five minutes and yelling at me to get out.

When I got back to my bedroom, both Alice and Eli were sitting on my already made bed talking animatedly about something. What the? They made my bed? I groaned and they both looked up.

"Well, it's about time!" Alice said excitedly and jumped off my bed to grab a bag off of the floor.

"You guys, you didn't have to make my bed." I sighed.

"Yes we did. It was one more thing you didn't have to waste time on. Now, go put these on and come back here so we can do your hair and make up!" Alice squealed and handed me the bag.

"Alright. I will be right back."

"Oh, you better!"

I sighed and walked back to the bathroom to change. I took out the clothes and a pair of boots out of the shopping bag and looked at them before I put them on. Alice had bought me a pair of dark blue jeans that were boot cut and a pretty dark blue button up blouse. She also got me a pair of beige boots and I gasped when I saw the coat. It matched the boots in color and the inside was embroidered with a fuzzy soft material made to keep the person who wore it warm and toasty. I was surprised that I actually liked it all but I was upset because it looked like it was all expensive, too expensive. I have to ask Alice what she spent on it all and pay her back for it.

After I was dressed, I grabbed the coat and walked back to my bedroom. I was almost to my door when I tripped over the rug and almost fell flat on my face. I blamed it on the boots since they were brand new and I haven't had a chance to wear them in yet. But, who am I kidding? I probably would have tripped with nothing on my feet anyway.

I walked in my room to see Alice digging threw my closet while Eli sat on my bed reading one of my books.

"Alice, what are you doing?" I asked as I laid the coat down on the bed and sat next to Eli.

"I'm looking to see what else I need to buy you on our next shopping trip, and Bella, it looks like you need a whole new wardrobe make over! I mean come on, sweat pants Bella?" She asked me as she held up one of my favorite pairs.

"Hey! I happen to like to wear comfortable clothing. And don't you dare touch those, they are my favorite!" I am definitely going to make sure I have no lighters or matches lying around the house. I sighed in relief when she put them back in my closet and shut the door.

"Alright. It's time to do your hair and make up!" She squealed. "And that outfit, see I told you Eli, doesn't she look cute!"

"Yep, blue seems to suit you Bella." Eli said as she got off my bed and returned my book to the shelf it was on.

"Now, don't try anything Bella. It is best to comply so we can get this over with. Now, come sit here." Alice ordered. And I walked over to my desk and sat down. I noticed Alice and spread out different kinds of make up on the top.

"Yeah, you don't want her to start singing again do you?" Eli asked me with a smirk as she took another seat on my bed facing us.

"Okay, let's just get this over with!" I whimpered. I was not looking forward to this!

"It's okay Bella. I will make sure Alice doesn't get too out of hand." Eli laughed.

Then, Alice got to work on my make up and hair. I felt like I was sitting there for hours so I started to fidget and tried to get rid of the numb feeling in my butt.

"Hold still Bella, I am almost finished." Alice said. She then added a coat of clear lip-gloss and squealed, "Okay, I am finished! Eli, come over here with the mirror."

Eli came over with a mirror in her hands. When she looked at me she smiled so I took that as a good sign and prayed that Alice didn't make me look like Bozo The Clown.

"Tuh Dah!" Eli said with a giggle and held up the mirror so I could see. I gasped. Whoa. The girl in the mirror looked nothing like plain little me. Her make up looked natural and she only had a coat of mascara and a little brown eye shadow on her eyelids. Her hair was curled gently and fell down in waves where some curls framed her face. She actually looked pretty.

"Wow Bella. You are going to leave my brother breathless." Eli said with her knowing smile.

"Yeah, both our brothers." Alice giggled. "I know – I know. I am the master!"

"Wow – I…I don't know what to say. Thank you Alice."

"No problem Bella. I love doing this sort of thing so when another occasion comes along, be prepared." She warned.

"What time is it?" Eli asked. I was still looking at myself in the mirror in disbelief to care what time it was.

"Oh my, it is eleven forty two. We better get going! We are suppose to meet everyone at Mike's parents store by noon." Alice rushed. She began to put all her make up and hair supplies away in a bag.

"You ready to go Bella? Don't worry, we are going to have so much fun." Eli said as she put the mirror down and broke my trance.

"Yeah, I guess so." I lied as I got up and grabbed my new coat. Did I mention how much I really didn't want to go to this thing today? Well, I don't!

"Come on Bella, _Where's your happy face_?" Eli said in a southern accent that made me giggle.

Once Alice had everything put away in her bag and Eli and her both grabbed their coats, we started to head down stairs and out the door. I let Alice and Eli go ahead of me so I could lock up. When I locked the door, we headed to the driveway where Eli's red Toyota Matrix sat. The sun was out with only a few clouds in the sky so I didn't need to wear my coat yet, but I knew the good weather wouldn't last long and it was probably cooler by the coast.

"Would you like shot gun Bella?" Alice asked me as Eli unlocked the trunk so she could put her "beauty" supply bag back there.

"Um, I don't mind sitting in the back." I said, already heading to the back passenger side door

"Nope, you are sitting up front with me Bella. I don't think I could handle Alice jumping up and down with excitement while I'm trying to drive." Eli said which earned her a glare from Alice. I chuckled and got in the front passenger seat when Eli unlocked the doors. Alice got in the back pouting.

We arrived at a little sportsman/camping store about ten minutes later. I noticed that there were already a lot of people waiting in the parking lot already. I spotted a few people I recognized. There was Mike standing in front of a green Dodge mini van talking to Brandon, Emmett, and Tyler. I also Spotted Eric with a couple of girls I knew who were Jessica and Lauren. There were a few others crowded around cars that I recognized but did not know the names of. Then, I spotted the silver Volvo that belong to the one person I was dreading to see today. Edward was standing outside his car talking with a guy from the football team while Tanya stood by his side looking at her nails. Well, doesn't she look excited to be here?

Right when Eli pulled up and parked next to the green mini van, I saw Brandon running over to my side of the car and opened the door for me.

"Hey! You made it!" He beamed at me.

"Yep." I said as I got out of the car. When I did so I heard a gasp and I looked up to see Brandon staring down at me with a shocked expression on his face. I blushed and looked at Eli and Alice who were getting out of the car giggling. Oh, I bet they were enjoying this. Alice looked at me and gave me an expecting smile. I rolled my eyes at them and looked back at Brandon who seemed to compose himself.

"You look beautiful Bella." He said with an enthusiastic smile.

"Uh – thank you." I said shyly and turned my head away to hide the even darker blush that began to burn on my cheeks.

"So, you girls ready for some fun? We are only waiting for a couple more people and then we will be car pooling down to La Push." He said and led us over to where Mike was standing by the mini van.

"You bet we are ready buddy! Aren't you ready Bella? I'm ready!" Alice squealed excitedly while she took my arm. I just shook my head at the little bouncing ball.

"So where's Jasper Alice? I figured he would be coming." Brandon asked. He looked a little annoyed and I guessed he wasn't over their little fight from yesterday and was only asking to be nice.

"Oh, him and Rosalie are visiting with some family that came here from out of town so they couldn't make it." She said with a pout.

"Oh. Too bad." He said and then turned back to me with a smile once we were stopped in front of the van. "So, Bella. How would you like to ride with me down to the beach?"

I looked at both Eli and Alice with worried eyes. Should I go with him? Or should I see whom Eli and Alice were going to ride with first? The look on both of their faces and their nodding heads assured me to go with him.

"Uh – okay." I said shyly. The smile on his face some how got even bigger.

"Great! I'm going to take my truck since Eli's car can't make it on the sand. But, don't worry I will reserve shot gun just for you."

"Well, thank you. I feel honored." I said with a giggle.

"Oh, you should be. He hardly ever lets a girl ride shotgun in his truck. He says his truck is too manly." I heard a voice say from behind Brandon. Brandon turned around sharply and glared at Mike.

"What? It's the truth man. You said you make Eli ride in the back because it would ruin the effect of "The Beast"." Mike said as he held up his hands in surrender.

"Brandon! What the hell is he talking about?" Eli asked angrily.

"I don't know. He – he's lying!" Brandon stuttered out. I heard Alice laugh beside me and I could tell she was enjoying this little predicament he put himself through.

"Cut the crap Brandon. What on earth does he mean by "The Beast"?" Eli asked "And just to confirm with everyone, I do not have to ride in the back whenever I get a ride from Brandon." Oh, I couldn't wait to hear what he has to say about this.

"The Beast" is the name he gave his precious truck Eli." Mike answered for him as he laughed. Everyone else laughed and I giggled. Poor guy. Almost every time I see him someone's got to pick on him. Mainly Alice.

"What? I thought it was a fitting name for it! I mean - look at it!" He said as he pointed over to a huge black truck that was parked across the little parking lot. My giggling stopped as soon as my eyes spotted his truck and trust me, it wasn't too hard to spot. Oh my. It looked like a monster truck! It _was_ huge!

"Okay, I can see why you named it that. But why would you tell people that Eli has to sit in the back?" I asked him confused.

"Uh – uh. I don't know. I just thought that it –um…" he stuttered out. I giggled at the look of fear on his face.

"It's okay Brandon. You don't have to explain." I said patting his shoulder lightly. He looked at me relieved and smiled as he took my hand off his shoulder and held it in his. I was shocked. I didn't want to be rude and pull it away. I wasn't only shocked that he would hold my hand, but I was also shocked because I liked the feeling of his hand holding mine. Hmm…I wonder how it would feel if it was Edwards' hand holding mine instead of –stop it Bella! Stop it!

"Bel –la! You made it!" Said a loud voice from behind. I turned around and only caught a glimpse of muscles before I was scooped up into a giant bear hug. Despite my need for air, I still smiled.

"Em – Emmett? I – can't –breathe." I managed to choke out before he released me.

"Oh, My bad. Sorry Bella." He said smiling sheepishly at me.

"It's okay Emmett. Even though your hugs almost crush me to death, I still enjoy them." I reassured him with a smile. Emmett smiled back and then turned to Mike to ask him a question. That's when I saw Edward and Tanya. They were walking hand in hand over towards us. Edward smiled at me and I gave him a little smile in return before I turned back to listen to what everyone was talking about. Brandon had let go of my hand after my attack hug from Emmett and I was a little disappointed when he didn't grab it again.

"Alright everyone! I just got a call from Daniel and he said that he and Sierra can't make it so I guess we can start cramming into some cars and head out!" Mike said elatedly after he hung up his cell phone.

"Okay Bella, you are riding with me along with Eli, Alice, Edward, and Tanya. I can fit three up front and three in the back cab." Brandon said as he grabbed my hand again and led the way over to "The Beast". I heard what sounded like a growl come from behind us and I noticed Edward was glaring at Brandon's hand that held mine. I heard Eli and Alice giggle and he turned to unleash his glare on them.

Brandon opened the passenger side door for me and I looked up at how high of a climb it was to get in.

"How on earth am I suppose to get up there?" I squeaked out. Holy crow! I needed a later just to get in and in my attempts to I would probably find some way on killing myself! Brandon let out a laugh as well as everyone else around me. I felt that all to familiar blush creep up on my cheeks and I silently cursed myself.

"Yeah, Edward. Do we seriously have to ride in that –that _thing? _Can't we take your car instead?" Tanya's annoying voice whined.

"No Tanya." Edward said a little annoyed. "My car can't make it to the spot where the bon fire is suppose to be." Tanya looked at him and gave him something that I assumed was suppose to be a "cute" pout but it only made it her look constipated.

"It's ok Bella. I will help you up." Brandon said now laughing at Tanya's face. "Trust me. If that annoying little pixie can get in here, you can too." I looked at Alice and saw that she looked like she was about to attack Brandon so I took a deep breath and let him help me up into the passenger seat.

Once I was safely inside I slide over to the middle and Eli came up and sat next to me. Alice, Edward and Tanya pilled in the back while Brandon came around and got in the drivers seat.

"Buckle up everyone. It's going to be a bumpy ride!" Brandon said as he started the engine. I jumped when it roared to life and immediately reached for my seat belt.

"So –um. How far is La Push?" I asked to no one in particular.

"It's only about five minutes from here, and then it will take about another five to reach the spot on the beach." Eli giggled beside me. "You can relax Bella. Have faith in my brother."

"Yeah, Bella. Even if we were to crash I bet we would be doing more damage to the other car than ourselves." I heard Alice say from the back.

"What? You don't trust me Bella?" Brandon asked as we pulled out of the parking lot onto the highway and followed a big gray Jeep.

"Um – I trust you. It's "The Beast" I don't trust." I said. Gosh how high were we? I can only see the tops of the passing cars!

"Well, you have nothing to worry about. Trust me Bella, I will get you there safe." He said and he put his right arm over my shoulder. I immediately relaxed into his shoulder. It was strange how relaxed I felt whenever he touched me. It was like he had his own calming effect.

"Aw, aren't you two a bunch of cuties!" Alice squealed from the back. I rolled my eyes and looked at Eli who was looking right back at me with a smile and mouthed, "I told you so".

"Shut it Alice! Or else I'm going to leave you on the side of the highway!" Brandon said annoyed. I laughed when I turned my head enough to see Alice's expression and saw her glaring daggers at the back of Brandon's head. When she heard me she turned to me and smiled and just like Eli she mouthed another, "I told you so." Jeez. What on earth is up with these two? They should be related!

I was just about to turn my head back around when I saw Edward doing the same thing Alice was doing. Why was he so upset with him? Was he mad he threatened to leave his sister on the side of the highway? When he saw me looking he just turned his head and looked out the side window. Jeez. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

"So Brandon. Did you hear what Alice did to poor Bella this morning?" Eli asked probably trying to break the silence. Oh God, did she have to bring that up though?

"No. What did she do now?" Brandon asked already enticed to hear the story.

Eli explained the whole story, and I mean _whole_ story to everyone in the truck. I never felt so embarrassed in my life! Everyone was laughing, including Edward. Tanya of course looked like she was bored, but I didn't care. I was too busy trying to hide the evil blush that crept up on my cheeks.

"You should have seen her poor thing! She jumped off of that bed so fast you would have thought it was on fire!" Eli said laughing.

"Aw, you want me to drowned Alice once we get to the beach Bella?" Brandon asked jokingly as he tightened his arm around my shoulder.

"No. I will let her live, _this_ time. Only because she spent God knows what on some new clothes for me." I said and turned my head to smirk at Alice.

"You better let me live. How else am I going to replace all those things you call clothes hidden away in your closet?" Alice asked smirking back. I turned back around to Brandon.

"On second thought, maybe we should just leave her by the highway." I said.

"OK!" Brandon said and swerved over to the right and came to a stop. He then turned his head to look at Alice. "You heard Bella, out!"

"Wh – what?" Alice squeaked. She turned to me shocked, with a panicked look in her eyes. I looked at her with the same expression, I had no clue if he was being serious or not.

"Um, Brandon. I was just joking." I said hesitantly. What on earth was he doing? Was he really going to leave poor Alice on the side of the road? I hate what she did to me this morning but I don't hate her enough to strand her out on the side of the highway!

"I know. I was just joking too Bella. It was worth it to see the look on Alice's face!" Brandon said laughing as he pulled back onto the highway. "The next time you pick on Bella and I hear about it, I won't be joking next time."

"Oh whatever." Alice said as she slumped back into her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. I knew she was upset but I could tell her expression was also relieved. And once we were back on the highway I was able to relax back into Brandon's arm.

Once we got to La Push, we followed the same gray Jeep past the Indian Reservation and onto a sandy road that lead further towards the beach. Brandon had to take his arm from around me so he could steer on the bumpy sand. I was a little disappointed but thankful that he was keeping both hands on the wheel. We traveled for what seemed like five minutes on the rough terrain, just like Eli had said, when we finally came to a stop. We all unbuckled and Eli jumped out of the passenger's seat without a problem. I slid over and looked down at the sand below me. Well, at least it's sand and would cushion me if I fell. Thankfully though, Brandon came around and held his arms up towards me.

"Jump Bella. Trust me, I will catch you." He said with a reassuring smile. I took a deep breath and jumped down into Brandon's arms. True to his word, my body never touched the sandy ground and I released a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding.

"Thank you." I said as I stared up into his hazel eyes. His arms were still gently wrapped around my waist.

"Your welcome. I told you I would catch you." He said, still not letting go of me. We then heard a cough come from behind Brandon and we turned to see who it was.

"Well, once you two love birds are done over there, do you think you could help us find some wood Brandon?" Mike asked and winked.

"Sure, I will be right there." He said to Mike and then turned back to me. "I should be back in a few minutes. We are just going to head down the beach a little ways to find some drift wood."

"Oh, ok. I will see you when you get back then."

"Yep." He said and finally took his arms from around my waist. "Have fun and don't go too close to the water, I don't want you falling in"

"Oh ha ha." I giggled and swatted his arm playfully. "See you when you get back."

"Okay." He chuckled and turned to Eli. "Hey, can you and Alice get some of the chairs from the back? Emmett and Edward will help you. And don't let Bella do a thing. She should be here enjoying herself and not working."

"Sir, yes sir!" Eli said with a salute. She then grabbed Alice's arm and they headed to the back of the truck to retrieve the chairs.

Brandon gave me one last heartwarming smile before turning around and walking over to where Mike and a few others were waiting for him. I watched as they made there way down the beach and when I could hardly see them, I took that time to look around at my surroundings. We were parked on what looked like a remote beach. No one other than us was here. The windy salt air was a little chillier and crisp than the air in town even though the sun was still brightly shining. I looked over towards the water. Its giant waves were crashing into the rocks causing the water to spray up like a fountain. I saw some people walking over to the water watching it like I was, but I preferred to do it at a distance. I looked out towards the sea and could see gloomy and dark looking clouds making there way towards the shore. Well, we probably will only get a couple more hours out of the sun before it gets hidden by the clouds. I looked around at all the other people and there were either walking around, sitting on chairs, or sitting on a giant log that looked like a bench. A few others's got a Frisbee out and started to play.

"Hey, you want to go sit?" Eli asked as both her and Alice made there way over to me.

"Sure"

"So, were we right or were we right?" Alice asked excitedly as we began to walk over towards the giant log.

"I have no idea what you are talking about Alice." I said innocently. We reached the log and sat down. I put my new coat on as I felt the chilly air come off the ocean sending me into shivers.

"Oh, don't you dare play dumb with me Bella Swan! I know chemistry when I see it, and believe me, you two have it!" She squealed.

"Yep. My brother is totally falling for you Bella!" Eli said on my other side.

I was happy to hear that they saw what I felt, but I was beginning to feel a little uneasy. Maybe I shouldn't be jumping into this. Maybe, it's all too soon. I like Brandon, I really do. He has this quality about him that makes me feel safe or relaxed. Not to mention, he is absolutely one of the most gorgeous guys I have ever seen. But, that's just it. He's _one_ of them. Edward, there was so much more I felt about him. There were so many more qualities that I have fallen for in him. Like those piercing emerald green eyes that sparkled when he laughed or smiled. His smile! It was so beautiful and I loved that crooked grin that would send shivers down my spine, especially when it was directed at me. His laugh was like music to my ears and his soft velvet voice sent me weak at the knees. Everything about Edward was perfect, he was stunning, and he was everything and more. And he was…Tanya's. Not mine.

"Bella?" I heard a voice say. It took me a moment to realize it was Eli.

"Wh- what?" I asked, when I finally came out of my thoughts.

"Are you alright? For someone who was all smiles a few minutes ago, you look like you've just realized something horrible." Eli said concerned.

"I'm just so…confused." I said with a sigh.

"Bella, we can tell that you like Brandon and he _totally_ likes you. So, what's there to be confused about?" Alice asked.

"Well, I do like Brandon…a lot, it's just that I don't think this is all right. What if I never fall for Brandon like I have for…" I looked around quickly to make sure no one was paying attention to our conversation and then whispered, "Edward."

"Then let my brother know that you only like him as a friend. He will understand Bella. But please, give him a try. You might just fall for him harder than Edward once you spend time with him. I mean look at you guys, as soon as you are together, you are almost inseparable!" Eli said and Alice nodded her head in agreement.

"But, what happens if I don't and I never get over Edward?" I asked.

"Well, then you don't have feelings for my brother. But, I'm sure you will get over Edward if him and Tanya never split. There are other guys out there Bella. It may take time, but I can tell you are a strong person and you will get over it." Eli said.

"Yeah, Bella. And then like we said before, if Edward does break up with Tanya and he finally tells you how he really feels about you, then I guess that would be the happiest day of your life wouldn't it?" Alice asked me with a giggle.

"Well, yeah. But, what happens if he does break it off with her but I'm still with Brandon?"

"Edward probably wouldn't tell you because if he sees that you are happy with Brandon and living your life like he is the greatest thing in it, then he won't want to make you unhappy by telling you. He will keep quiet even if it makes him unhappy just so he can keep you happy. But, if he sees that you are not happy with Brandon, well then be prepared." Alice warned.

"Ugh…"I groaned and put my head in my hands and I felt Eli rub soothing circles on my back. I'm still a little confused. I guess I have to let time do its part and see where it takes me.

"Bella? Are you alright?" I heard his angelic voice and I looked up from my hands and my eyes met piercing green ones that were full of concern.

"Yeah, I'm alright Edward. Just, tired." I lied.

"See, I told you she was probably fine." Tanya said annoyed.

"I still wanted to make sure she was okay." Edward said and turned his concerned globes away from me and glared them at Tanya.

"Well, now that you see she's _okay_, can we please go back and sit by the Jeep? I'm cold." Tanya whined as she hung herself on him.

"Are you sure you're okay Bella?" He asked looking back at me still concerned. I just nodded my head yes and gave him a smile, hoping it would reassure him and he would take his arm candy far away before I get the sudden urge to rip that strawberry blonde hair of hers off of her head. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who started to feel that way.

"Bella's fine Edward. Now, you better go take _Tanya_ back over to where ever it was she came from before the _poor _thing freezes to death." Alice said through clenched teeth.

"Hey! Watch your mouth you little…" Tanya began to say before Edward grabbed her arm "Let's go Tanya."

"But –but Edward! Are you just going to let her talk to me like that?" she said astonished. Edward didn't answer her but kept dragging her back over to the Jeep.

"Ha! Looks like he just did!" Alice yelled as she stood up and glared evilly at her. Tanya turned around and looked back at Edward waiting for him to say something but when he did not she wrenched her arm away from him and strutted over to the Jeep in a huff.

"Grr! The nerve of that bimbo!" Alice said angrily as she sat herself back down next to me.

"Hey Guys!" We all turned our heads to see Brandon walking back to our spot with wood pilled in his hands. "I'm just going to help mike get a fire started here and then I will join you in a bit."

We sat in silence as we watched Brandon, Mike, and a few others get the driftwood ready and start a bon fire. Once it was finally lit, everyone seemed to congregate over towards the miraculous flames. Eli scooted over, allowing Brandon to sit next to me. As soon as he sat, his arm was back around my shoulder.

"So, are you enjoying yourself?" he asked smiling.

"Yeah. I've mostly just been sitting here talking with Eli and Alice since you've left but I'm enjoying myself. I haven't been to the beach in a long time." I really was enjoying myself despite the few things or people who ruined some of it, but I love being on the beach. The smell of the salt air and the sound of the crashing waves on the rocks always had a calming effect that seemed to wipe away any stress I was feeling. I bet Brandon being back helped me relax some also.

"That's good." He said and turned to look at the fire. I watched with him and was entranced by the bright yellow, red, and orange flames. Where the wood was actually burning, the flames were bluish green. I heard Mike explaining to Eli that the salt water on the wood causes the color change in the flames. It was actually beautiful.

"Hey, I've never noticed before but in the sun your hair looks like it had has a red tint to it." Brandon said as he grabbed a strand and held it up to the sunlight.

"Yep. You can only tell in the sun or certain lighting." I giggled as he kept staring at the strand between his fingers.

"Well, it's absolutely beautiful." He said and set the strand back in place. He then turned his gaze on me. "Just like you Isabella. Everything about you is beautiful."

"Wh –what?" I asked with a huge gulp. I could feel my cheeks burning and I knew it wasn't because of the fire burning in front of us. Brandon chuckled and was about to say something else when Mike interrupted him.

"Hey guys!" he called out to a group of boys who were coming out of the forest lining the beach. They all looked about our age and they all had long dark hair and bronzed skin.

"Who are they?" I asked curiously.

"They are some of the boys off of the Reservation." Brandon said. "They usually come down and hang out with us whenever we come down here.

"Oh." Was all I said, as I watched the boys make their way over to us. Mike and Brandon both stood up to great them and I almost whimpered at the cold air that now replaced Brandon's warmth.

"Hey Mike, Brandon." One of them greeted as they shook both Mike and Brandon's hands. "So, how are things going in Forks? I heard you guys got a new comer. We got one too yesterday."

"Yep. Her name is Bella Swan. She came here from Phoenix." Brandon said and looked over towards me and smiled. I waved at the boy when suddenly one of them I didn't notice before looked over at me shocked.

"Isabella Swan?" He asked me astonished. I looked at him closer and then that's when I realized why he was acting so shocked to see me.

"Jacob? Jacob Black?" I asked. His face brightened as I mentioned his name.

"Yeah! Gosh. What a small world huh?" He asked me and we both laughed.

"Well, are you two going to explain how you know each other already?" Alice asked impatiently. I looked around and noticed everyone's confused eyes were on me.

"Uh - Alice, I use to go to school with him when I lived in Phoenix." I said blushing from all the attention.

"Yeah, your friend Katie told me you moved, but she didn't tell me you moved to Forks! Wait a minute…you don't happen to be related to Charlie Swan?" He asked me and walked over and sat in the spot that Brandon left. Everyone finally went back to what they were doing before, well except for Brandon and Edward. They were both glaring at Jacob as if he just did the most horrible thing to me by sitting next to me.

"Yeah, Charlie's my dad. Why?"

"Really! Sweet! My dad and your dad are like best friends!" he said excitedly.

"Really?"

"Yep. His name is Billy. I guess they go fishing a lot and watch a lot of games together." He said and then shook his head. "I still can't believe this."

"Wait. Your dad lives here?" I asked and he shook his head. "Then why were you in Phoenix?"

"I lived with my mom in Phoenix. She got really sick last year though and she passed away about a month ago. I was staying with my aunt for a while to help around the house and get things settled. Then I moved to the Reservation to live with my dad."

"Oh my Jacob, I'm so sorry to hear about your mom." Hmm, why hadn't Katie mention any of this in her email?

"That's alright. I'm just glad she's not suffering anymore." He said with a sad smile. "So, what brought you out here to live with your dad?"

"My mom got remarried. Her new husband travels a lot because of his job, and when it came time for them to move to Jacksonville, well my mom told him to refuse because she wanted me to finish school first. I could tell my mom really wanted to go though, so I decided to move in with my dad and give her and her new husband some alone time at their new place." I said.

"Hey Jacob! Come here!" The boy who talked to Brandon when they first joined us was waving at Jacob to join them.

"Well, it was good seeing you again Bella. But, I have a feeling we will be seeing each other again soon." He said and stood up. "I'll see you later."

"Ok." I said and watched him walk away. Wow. That was totally unexpected! Why haven't I heard about him and his dad from Charlie before? This is completely weird. And I noticed the feelings I had for him when we went to school together were now completely gone. All's I could see in Jacob now was friendship and that didn't seem like such a bad thing.

I felt someone sit in the spot that Jacob just vacated and I thought it was Brandon but I was shocked to see a girl sitting in his place. She was a slim girl with straight light brown hair that was put neatly in a ponytail and had brown almond shaped eyes.

"Hi Bella. My name is Angela Weber. I'm sorry I haven't made any proper introductions in school." She said as she held her hand out for me to shake.

"Hi Angela, that's all right, it's nice to meet you." I said while shaking her hand.

"You too. So, how are you liking Forks?" She asked.

"Oh, it's alright now that I found some friends I suppose. I'm not a big fan of the weather though." I said and she giggled.

"Yeah, I'm not too big on the weather either. I'm glad we actually got a sunny day today though. But, it doesn't look like it's going to last that long." She said and turned to look at the dark menacing clouds that were making there way slowly towards us on shore.

I sat and talked with Angela and after a while Eli and Alice joined in on our conversation. I was actually having a fun time with my friends and was actually allowing myself to enjoy hanging out with Brandon who soon returned to my side and kept me warm. We all sat around and ate some sandwiches while listening to Brandon, Mike, and Tyler taking turns on playing the guitar. Brandon was actually very talented with the guitar and he tried to teach me a few things on it. I also learned a couple names of the La Push boys who joined us. The one who talked to Brandon first was named Sam. Then there was Embry and Quil and of course, Jacob. I didn't pay much attention to Edward but I couldn't ignore the feeling of his eyes on me and I would eventually look over at him once and a while to see that he was in fact staring at me. But, I didn't say anything or do anything except turn away from his gaze. As the rest of our time on the beach went by, the air started to turn even chillier and the sky grew dark with rain clouds that hid our glorious view of the sun, which we would all surely miss. Once it started to drizzle, everyone started to pack up and after we said bye to the La Push boys, we all pilled into cars and headed back to Mike's parents' store.

"So Bella…did you have a good time or what?" I heard Alice ask from the back seat. We were in Brandon's truck again in the same spots as when we were going to the beach and I was almost asleep, content with my head on Brandon's shoulder as he held me close.

"Yep. I had a grand old time." I said with a giggle and yawned.

"Uh – oh. Is it passed someone's nappy time?" Brandon joked. I swatted at his chest playfully.

"No, I wouldn't be so tired if I didn't have such a rude wake up call this morning." I said and heard Alice giggle from the back.

"Oh come on Bella, you know you enjoyed my little performance. Would you like to hear it again?" She asked excitedly.

"NO!" Everyone except for Alice, and probably Tanya, said simultaneously.

"Ah, you guys so are mean!" Alice pouted and pretty much sulked the rest of the way back. I didn't mind though. I just relaxed back into Brandon and let his warmth and the roar of "The Beast" lull me to sleep.

**AN: *takes a deep breathe* Well, watcha think? I hope I'm not making anyone angry or even more confused! I tried to explain more about the whole love square thingy majiggy in hopes to make you less confused. And did you think that it was a good idea to add Jacob in here? I can guarantee you though; they will stay friends in this story. But, anyways, please please let me know what you think! Like I said before, your reviews and suggestions help me out a lot and keep me writing!**

**ATTENTION!! I have come to the conclusion that I will be making another version of Unexpected Love once I am finished with thiss one and it will be basically the same story but it will be all in Edwards POV!**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: Oh My, First off, I just want to thank all of you who have reviewed! I am truly blessed to have such awesome reviewers such as yourselves! And, I would like to give a shout out to two of my favorite reviewers, Loulabelle & Teddyloverr; I absolutely LOVE your guys' reviews! Every time I post a chapter, I can't wait to read what you guys have to say. And that's what I like too; you guys leave a review for every chapter. I just wanted to thank you guys for taking the time in reading my story and leaving me reviews that always make me smile or laugh, or sometimes even both and help me out extremely! Big Emmett bear hugs to ALL my wonderful reviewers! Love ya! :D**

**Ok, now on about this chapter. Well, this chapter took me a little longer to get done because I had a major writers block and didn't know where to start the story again, so I apologize that I took so long. But, I finally broke through it and was able to complete it so here you guys go! I hope you like it :D**

Ch.7

A week has gone by since the beach outing. I was startled to say the least when Brandon woke me up as we arrived back at Mike's parent's store. I was so embarrassed that I fell a sleep on him but of course, Brandon didn't seem to mind all too much. We were all sad when we had to depart and tried to delay our leaving as long as we could. Edward on the other hand, well, lets just say that as soon as Brandon parked his truck, Edward grabbed Tanya and left without so much as a thank you, goodbye, or see you later. At first, it didn't really bother me and I didn't care that Edward was being so moody. Probably because of being in the presence of Brandon and having his arm around my shoulder kept my thoughts only on him. But, as soon as Alice and Eli dropped me off and I was in my room getting ready to take a shower, it all started to hit me, and it hit me hard.

Why was Edward practically ignoring me the whole day? He didn't really say anything to me except for when he asked if I was all right. Other than that, he spent the whole day with Tanya either sitting by Emmett's big gray Jeep, or sitting as far away from Brandon and I as he possibly could. I knew I shouldn't let it all bother me but I couldn't stop the hurt and frustration that fled through me. I was hurt that he had spent all of his time with Tanya and acted like I didn't exist. Did I do something wrong? Was he mad about Brandon? I mean, come on, we aren't even going out yet! And when we went back to school, he acted the same exact way. He hardly even talked to me in biology, even when we had to discuss something class related. But, he wasn't the only one acting strange either.

In the week that had followed, Brandon was even acting a little weird. Normally, he would have walked me to my classes and wait for me by the cafeteria before lunch so we could go in together, but he stopped doing all of those things. Both Eli and Alice told me not to worry about it. They said that he was probably feeling like he might of rushed things a little too much with me so he was giving me some space so I wouldn't get uncomfortable. But, how could I not worry? This was all getting so dam frustrating and he is not making this decision making process any more easier!

I still have not come up with a decision on what I wanted to do. Alice and Eli have been bugging me non-stop at school and even calling me at home to get an answer out of me but I couldn't give them one because I was still confused. Maybe, me being with Brandon would turn out to be a bad thing. What if being with him would cause Edward to ignore me completely and doesn't want a thing to do with me? And, what if he thinks that me being with Brandon means that I really didn't like him like he thought the first day I started school there? What if that drives him to stay with Tanya and they never break up? Then, I could never be with the angel I wished to be with since the moment my eyes first met his piercing green ones.

Argh! But what about Brandon? I have never had so much fun spending time with a guy my age then I did when I was spending time with him. I also enjoy seeing him at school everyday and having him by my side as we walked from our classes or sat together at lunch. I have been able to get to know him a lot better and I love how sweet and caring he is. He is also very funny, especially when him and Alice have their little brawls. We also have so much in common, which makes it easier for us to start conversations with one another. He really is a great guy and I could actually see myself with him. And, that scared me. I could literally see myself being happy with him walking hand in hand and standing by each other's sides. But whenever I tried to see myself with Edward, it was almost comical. Just picture a big majestic lion standing next to a little white defenseless lamb. It looked like a predator and it's prey. So seeing plain little old me standing next to an angelic god, looked absolutely insane to me. But, I still did not want to give up on that last little hope that Edward and I could some day be together.

"Bella!" Charlie yelled at me from down stairs. It was a Friday night and I was in my room lying on my bed trying to read my book for my English class.

"Yeah Dad?" I hollered back.

"Bells, can you come down here? We have some visitors!" Huh? Visitors? Who on earth was visiting us? I didn't even hear anyone come in through the front door or anything.

I sighed and sat my book aside. Then I rolled off the bed and headed out of my room and down the stairs. I tried to be quiet so I could hear the voices coming from the living room. I heard a deep voice talking and I realized I did not recognize the voice. I made it to the bottom step when my foot slipped and I landed on my butt hard with a loud "Uff!". Psh! So much for trying to be quiet!

"Bella? Are you alright?" I heard Charlie's amused voice say as he made his way over to me. He went behind me and practically picked me up and put me back on my two clumsy feet. I heard chuckling coming from the living room and I could feel the all to familiar blush that wanted to appear.

"I'm fine dad. I just slipped." I said embarrassed.

"It's a good thing you didn't do that from the top step. Now, come on into the living room. I have someone I want you to see." He said and I followed him as he led the way.

"Billy, look how much my Bells here has grown." Charlie said proudly from in front of me and then he took a step aside. I was surprised to see Jacob sitting on the couch, grinning from ear to ear at me and I saw a man in a wheel chair parked by the side of the couch. Even if Charlie didn't say Billy's name, I would have immediately guessed it was him because of the similar traits between him and Jacob.

"Bella! It's nice to finally see you again. It's been a while, you probably don't even remember me." Billy said with a chuckle and held out his hand. I walked over and shook it.

"It's nice to see you too Billy. I don't remember you particularly but I remember my dad talking about how he use to bring me fishing with you two." I said kindly.

"Yep, that's right. Every summer when you were little you use to come here and visit with Charlie. And when he came over to the reservation you use to play with my daughters Rachel, Rebecca, and Jacob here." He said as he slapped Jacob on the shoulder.

"Dad!" Jacob said. I giggled and saw that he was blushing, clearly embarrassed.

"What? Can I help it I have a son that use to play with his sisters Barbie dolls when he was little?" Billy said and we all burst out laughing at Jacob's mortified expression.

"I – I – those – they – I - I did not play with Barbie Dolls!" Jacob finally got out after his stuttering.

"Whatever you say son." Billy chuckled. I walked over and sat down in the armchair next to Charlie's. "So, Bella. How have you been doing?"

"I've been doing alright. Just busy with school and all." I replied.

"That's good. Jacob told me you guys use to go to school together in Phoenix."

"Uh, yep. We had a few classes together." He probably didn't even remember me being in a single one of his classes.

"That's good. Are you enjoying Forks High?"

"Yeah. I have a lot of new friends there. The school is good too I guess. A little smaller than the one in Phoenix though." I said and looked at Jacob who was looking at me smiling. I smiled back. He must be over his embarrassment.

"So, Jacob. I've noticed that you don't go to Forks High. Where do you go?" I asked.

"I go to the High School on the reservation."

"Oh." Was all I said and began to listen to Charlie and Billy's conversation. I turned back to Jacob and he opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when the phone rang.

"I got it." I said as I jumped up and walked to the kitchen and grabbed the phone off of the receiver.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey Bella!" I heard Alice's excited voice say on the other end.

"Oh, hey Alice. What's up? And, before you ask, no. I still don't know what I'm going to decide yet."

"Oh poop. Well…Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Edward, and I were thinking about going to see a movie in Port Angeles and I was wondering if you wanted to come with?" She asked. Oh my. If I went then that means that Edward will be there. And if Edward is there, then Tanya will more than likely be there too.

"Um. I don't know Alice…"

"Oh come on Bella! Please!"

"Uh – what about Eli?"

"I invited Eli and Brandon to come but they are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate their dads birthday."

"Oh. Well, then I think I should pass Alice." If Brandon wasn't going to be there to help keep my mind off of Edward and Tanya then there is no way I want to go and be miserable all night.

"No no no! Bella, please say you will come. You will have fun, I promise! Plus, you get to spend some time alone with Edward without that annoying little Chihuahua that's stuck by his side all of the time."

"Wait – Tanya's not going?"

"Of course not silly Bella! Do you think I could handle a night out with that witch? No way! Now, please please please say you will come?"

"Mmm…I…."

"PLEASE!"

"Okay, I will go. But first, hold on a sec so I can ask Charlie."

"Yes! Okay go ask him! If he says no, then let me talk to him." Oh my, I could just hear that phone conversation.

"Okay. Hold on." I said. I sat the phone down on the counter and made my way back to the living room where Charlie and Billy were still chatting.

"Hey, Dad?" I asked attentively and stood by Charlie's chair.

"Yeah Bells." He said looking up at me.

"Um, that was Alice on the phone. She was wondering if I could go see a movie with her and some other friends in Port Angeles tonight."

"Oh, um. What time?"

"Uh – I don't know just yet. I was just seeing if I could go first."

"Oh, okay. Hey! Why don't you take Jacob with you?" he asked me.

"That's okay Charlie. I need to get dad home and I have a ton of homework to catch up on." Jacob said and smiled at me. Thank god! Not that I didn't want him to go. I was just excited that I get to see Edward without Tanya around and thought it best if I was by myself too.

"Can I still go dad?" I asked.

"All right. Just make sure that you don't stay out too late okay?"

"Okay!" I said and ran back to the kitchen. Which was a bad mistake for someone like me. I caught my big toe on the door jam and felt it whack into it hard.

"OW! Ouch, ouch, ouch." I whimpered and began to jump up and down on my foot without my damaged toe.

"You okay Bells?" I heard Charlie holler from the living room.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Just – stubbed my toe!" I yelled still hoping up and down. Once the pain started to reside, I limped back into the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Alice…" I said breathlessly.

"Are you alright Bella? What took you so long?" She asked.

"I'm fine. I just stubbed my toe on the door jam. And sorry, Jacob Black and his dad are over."

"Ohhh…"She said and the excitedly rushed the next words out. "So, can you go? Can you?"

"Yes, I can go Alice."

"Yay!" She squealed. I could practically picture her talking on the phone while bouncing up and down excitedly. "Okay, so…Jasper and I will pick you up in about an hour. And then we will meet Emmett, Rose, and Edward at the movies!"

"Okay, I will see you in an hour then?"

"Yep! Oh and Bella. Since I don't have time to get you a whole outfit, wear those jeans I got you because I have the cutest shirt that I got you to go with them!" She squealed.

"Alice…I will wear the jeans but I have plenty of shirts to wear thank you very much."

"Nope, not like this one. So, when I get there you can change into it!"

"But, Alice…"

"No buts Bella! I will see you in an hour!" She squealed one last time and then I heard a click. I hung the phone up. _Greeeaaat, _Alice got me more clothes. Why couldn't she leave me and my comfortable clothes alone?

I sighed and walked back into the living room. Jacob was pushing Billy towards the front door and Charlie was holding it open.

"You guys leaving already?" I asked as I reached the front door.

"Yeah, we just stopped by to see how things were going. It was nice seeing you again. Maybe when Charlie and I make another fishing trip, you can come and keep Jacob company." Billy said and shook my hand again.

"Yeah! It gets kind of boring with these two talking about sports this and spots that and did you see the game last night?" Jacob said to me and I giggled. Yep, it sounds like something Charlie would say.

"Okay. Maybe I will. Just let me know when you are going because I wouldn't want to be stuck with these two either."

"Hey! I resent that." Charlie said.

"Sorry Dad. But, Jacob is right. Hearing two people talk about sports all day isn't exactly up there on my fun list."

"Okay we better get going." Billy said chuckling. "See you Charlie. Take care of yourself Bella."

"Yeah, no more falling." Jacob teased me.

"Hey!" I said and swatted his arm.

"Hey, I'm just trying to look out for your health. As much as you fall and trip, it can't possibly be healthy."

"Yeah yeah. Tell me something I don't know."

"I will when you come fishing with us. Bye Bella."

"Okay, bye Jacob." I said giggling. I stood aside and watched Jacob push Billy out while Charlie followed.

Once they were outside I headed up to my room. I grabbed the pair of jeans Alice got me and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. The whole time I was in the shower I kept getting all jittery thinking about spending time with Edward.

When I got out of the shower, I changed into the jeans and the same t-shirt I had on before. I then blow dried my hair and brushed my teeth. While I was brushing my teeth, I couldn't help but notice my hand shaking the whole time. I was so nervous. What if Edward still doesn't talk to me all night? What if he ignores me even if Tanya won't be there?

I sighed and walked back to my room and plopped down onto my bead. Why does life have to be so damn confusing and frustrating? Why can't there be instruction manuals to your life so you had every single direction you needed to take in one book? Maybe after tonight though, I can finally figure out my decision…

"DANGER!" I heard someone shriek before they tackled me on the bed. I screamed in surprise and fell off the bed in alarm. I looked up at my attacker and saw Alice laughing away on the spot on my bed where I recently vacated.

"Alice! You are evil! Pure EVIL!" I hissed from my spot on the floor. My statement only seemed to make her laugh harder.

I suddenly heard a chuckle come from the door way and I turned to glare at them expecting Jasper to be standing there. Immediately, my glare was gone as it was replaced by astonishment and my mouth dropped open in shock. There, standing in the doorway of my bedroom, the Greek god himself, was Edward Cullen. What on earth was he doing here? Why is he in my room? Oh my god, he is in my ROOM! Edward freaking Cullen is in my room!

"I'm so-so so-sorry Bella! I didn't mean to scare you!" Alice said still laughing. She got off the bed and walked over to where I was sitting. She held her hand out and when I grabbed it she pulled me up off the floor.

"Uh huh. _Sure_ Alice." I said. Yeah, right. Alice would not pass up an opportunity to scare me to death.

"Okay. I did mean to scare you. But come on, you looked so out of it lying there! You didn't even hear us come in! I had to do it!" She said giggling.

"No, you didn't." I said angrily.

"Oh get over it. You're fine aren't you? Now, Edward come here." She said. I watched as Edward came all the way into my room and handed Alice a maroon shopping bag. He looked at me and smiled.

"Hey Bella. Sorry about Alice. I would have stopped her if I had known she was going to scare you." He said sincerely. Oh wow. He's talking to me? Quick Bella, talk! Don't just stand there with your mouth hanging open.

"Uh – that's okay." I said.

"Okay! Enough about what I did. Jeez, you two act like I just took all her clothes and shredded them to pieces, which I'm almost half tempted to do." Alice said and handed me the maroon bag. "Now, go change into that and I will have a pair of shoes ready for you when you get back. I know I at least saw one appropriate pair in that closet somewhere."

She didn't even give me a chance to respond. She walked right over to my closet and began to dig through it. I groaned. Oh my, the nerve of that little pixie!

"Um, you can have a seat on my bed if you want. I think Alice is going to be scavenging in my closet for a while." I told Edward. He smiled and walked over to my bed and sat down. I then walked to the bathroom and grabbed the shirt Alice got me. It was actually really nice. It was a deep blue blouse that had short sleeves. There was a thin black belt that went around the middle of it. I took my t-shirt off and put the new blouse on and looked in the mirror. Whoa. Maybe Alice really does know what she is doing when she shops.

When I got back to my bedroom, Alice was still digging in my closet while Edward sat on my bed reading one of my favorite books, _Wuthering Heights. _What is up with people and reading my books when they come in my room?

Alice came out of my closet and handed me a pair of black ballet flats that I usually only wore on special occasions but oh well. Alice probably wouldn't take no for an answer anyway.

"Here, put these on." I grabbed them from her and slipped them on my feet.

"Okay. Now here, put this on!" She ordered and handed me one of my black jackets and I shrugged it on. After I got it on, Alice held me by my shoulders and spun me around slightly.

"Perfect Bella! You look great!" Alice said and then walked over to Edward who was still reading. She poked him on the arm and asked, "Doesn't she look great Edward?"

He looked up at me and smiled. "You look beautiful Bella. I like that color on you." What? Okay, blue is now my favorite color! I shall make Alice buy all my clothes she gets me in blue! But, he probably didn't mean it. How could I look beautiful compared to his girlfriend?

"Don't we all!" Alice said animatedly. "Okay my peeps! It is time to go! We don't want to be late now do we?"

I sighed as I grabbed my wallet and stuck it in my jacket pocket. Edward got up and put my book back where I had it. Well, at least they put them back where they belong. Alice was already walking out of my bedroom door.

"So, you like _Wuthering Heights?_" I asked Edward as we followed Alice out.

"Yeah, It's a good book." He said. I felt a little pang in my chest as I realized he was still being short with me now that Alice wasn't by his side and didn't really want to talk. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I walked carefully as not to trip again and hollered to Charlie who was in the living room watching TV.

"Alright Dad, we are going now!"

"Okay Bella! Remember, not too late!" He hollered back.

"Okay, bye!"

"Kay, have fun!"

We got out the front door and walked to Edwards silver Volvo that was parked in the driveway. I was still confused on why he came and not Jasper like Alice said. And, I didn't want to be rude and ask Alice right in front of Edward. I was surprised when I got to the back passenger seat before Alice did. She was shocked too but I was expecting her to try to get me to sit up front with Edward like Eli did, so I was prepared. I was sure Edward would have rather of had Alice up front with him rather than me anyway. As soon as Edward unlocked the doors, we all got in.

We pulled out of the driveway and got on the high way. Alice said it would take about a twenty-five minutes to get to the city of Port Angeles so I was happy I wasn't stuck in the front seat. I mostly just looked out my side window and watched all the houses and tress pass by in a blur. Alice would start up a conversation here and there to try and get Edward and I talking. We were about halfway there when I realized I kept getting a feeling like someone was watching me. I looked up and noticed Edward was staring at me in the review mirror. When my eyes met his, he quickly turned his eyes back onto the road. And this is what we did the rest of the way there. Alice would try to start up a conversation, I would catch Edward staring at me, and then he would look away like nothing had happened.

When we arrived in Port Angeles, we pulled into a parking space a little ways from a small theatre. We got out and Alice took my arm as we walked on the sidewalk to the front of the theater. The air was crisp and I knew fall was going to be over soon which would mean even more cold weather was to come as we headed into winter. The sky looked beautiful and I realized it was my favorite time of day. It was Twilight.

"So, what movie did you want to see Bella?" Alice asked.

"I don't really mind." I said.

"What about you Edward?" She asked Edward who was walking on her other side.

"I don't mind which one we see either."

"Well, you guys are no help. I just hope Emmett didn't already get the tickets. Knowing him, he got tickets for that new horror movie." She said with a shiver.

"A horror movie? Are we really going to see one?" I asked and gulped. I hated scary movies with a passion! No matter what type of horror film it is, I still get nightmares from it and they scare me half to death. I'm already a jumpy person as it is, I don't need to sit through an hour and a half of blood, gore, and maniacs jumping out of dark places and killing people just to get scared.

"I don't know. Let's just hope that Emmett didn't buy the tickets already." She said as we made it to the front of the theatre. We saw Emmett, Rose, and Jasper standing by one of the many movie posters waiting for us. As soon as Alice saw Jasper, she let go of my arm and ran over to him leaving Edward and I to follow.

"Bella!" Emmett bellowed as we reached the group and I braced myself. Wait for it, wait for it.

"Emmett! Can't- breathe!" I said into his chest as he was crushing me in another bear hug. He immediately let me go with a huge grin on his face.

"Sorry Bells, you are just too darn huggable!"

"Oh, uh- thank you?" I said uncertainly. How can someone be too huggable?

"Well, you guys ready for some ZOMBIES!" Emmett's voice boomed.

"Emmett! Tell me you did not buy tickets to that stupid horror movie!" Alice said.

"Sure did sis." Emmett said. Uh oh. Not good. How the hell am I going to sit through a movie filled with zombies? I will have nightmares for weeks about the living dead people trying to get me! Maybe I should fake illness and have Charlie come and get me. Oh god Bella, you are acting like a child!

"How could you let him buy tickets for that?" Alice whined to Jasper.

"Sorry, he already bought the tickets while Rose and I were parking the his Jeep." Jasper said and kissed her cheek. He then smiled playfully down at her. "Don't worry, I will be there to protect you."

Oh, well that was _just_ great. Alice had someone to protect her; Rose had someone to protect her. Who did I have? My bloody jacket!

"Come on, let's go find some seats." Rosalie said. She and Emmett led the way in while we followed. Edward walked in back of me not saying a word to anyone.

When we entered the warm theatre I was immediately met with the aroma of popcorn and cinnamon.

"Hey, I want to get some popcorn." Emmett told us and headed over to the line with Rose.

"I think I'm going to get a box of those chocolate covered raisins." Jasper said. He then turned to Alice. "Did you want anything?"

"Yeah, I want to not see this movie!" Alice pouted. I don't blame her. If I weren't so terrified, I'd be pouting too.

"Come on Alice, it will be ok." He kissed her again. Jeez, these two are making my stomach a little queasy. Or, maybe it was getting queasy because of the thought of zombies chasing and chomping away at humans suddenly popped in my head.

"Ok. But no, I don't want anything." She said and kissed him one last time before letting him go. Jasper then turned and looked at me.

"Did you want anything Bella?" he asked.

"Nope." I squeaked out. Damn it! I sound like a woos and we aren't even watching the movie yet. Jasper chuckled and Alice gave me a funny look. I knew Edward was looking at me, but I just turned my attention on a group of teenagers by the front door.

"What about you Edward?" Jasper asked.

"No, I don't want anything." Edward said. I could still feel his eyes on me but I kept my vision on the rowdy teens who were now causing a ruckus.

"Okay, we will be right back." Jasper said and walked over to join Emmett and Rose in line leaving Alice, Edward and me alone.

"Bella, are you okay?" Alice asked me. I turned my head away from the teenagers who were now being kicked out of the movie theater and looked at a concerned Alice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not a big fan of scary movies." I said with a shiver.

"Oh, I see. Well, maybe I will get Emmett to exchange our tickets for that new romance movie that's out. Then the guys can see the horror movie." Alice said and put her arm around my shoulder.

"No – no. It's okay. We can watch – the zombie movie." I gulped.

"Are you sure?" She asked raising her perfectly shaped eyebrows.

I just nodded my head not wanting to talk. If I did, then she would surely know that I wasn't fine with seeing this movie. I didn't want to split up her and Jasper. I know they love spending time with one another and I don't want to be the one who has to spoil the evening for them. I was so nervous though, and Edward staring at me not saying a word wasn't helping me all too much.

"Hey, um – I will be right back. I'm going to go to the restroom." I told Alice and began to walk in that direction. I felt her come up from behind me to my side.

"I will come with you. You know, make sure you don't pass out in there." She joked.

I didn't really have to go, I just wanted to get away from Edward. I hate that he thought it was fine to just stare at me without saying anything to me. What was I suppose to think when someone just stares at me without saying anything? He could at least talk, then I wouldn't feel so uncomfortable with him.

When I got out of the stall, I began to wash my hands and Alice came over and leaned on the sink.

"So…" She said. I looked up at her waiting for her to finish telling me what she was saying. She just stared back at me smiling.

"So…what?" I asked. I shut the water off and looked around for the paper towel dispenser and couldn't find one. That's when I spotted the hand driers. Oh great. I hate these stupid things! It takes forever to dry your hands.

"So…I'm surprised you haven't asked me about why Edward was at your house and not Jasper." She said.

"Oh, yeah. I was going to ask you about that."

"Well, when I told everyone you were going to come with us, Edward immediately volunteered to pick you up and drive you. Well, I was going to let him but I knew you would be too uncomfortable with just him so I came. Plus, I wanted to give you the shirt in person, which looks great on you." Alice squealed.

"Oh yeah." I said and looked down at my shirt. "Thank you again Alice, I actually really like it."

"See, I told you – you would." She said with a knowing smile.

"Wait, why did Edward volunteer to pick me up? He hasn't really spoken to me all night so far. He hasn't been ever since we went to the beach." I asked confused.

"Well, I actually don't know why he did. That's another reason why I didn't let him come get you alone. I know my brother is as stubborn as a mule so I was afraid he would still give you the silent treatment."

"Why is he even giving me the silent treatment Alice?"

"Bella…you honestly don't know?" she asked me surprised.

"Uh- no. That is why I'm asking."

"He's jealous silly Bella!"

"Jealous?" I asked confused, so this was about Brandon wasn't it?

"Yes! The reason why he's been giving you _and _Brandon the silent treatment is because he is jealous that Brandon was holding your hand, had his arm around your shoulder almost all day, and you fell asleep on him. He is even more jealous that you _let_ him do those things." She explained.

Gosh, he was one of the most complicated boys I have ever met in my entire life! First, he acts all nice and caring and tells Eli and Alice that I was the _only_ girl he liked in Forks, then he gets a gorgeous girlfriend that I can't even live up to, then he acts like I don't exist, and now he is supposedly jealous because another boy has shown interest in me and I showed some back. What the hell was I suppose to do? Wait around for him forever until he is done playing this frustrating game with my emotions?

"Bella, you look like you're about to punch something. You want me to go get Emmett? I'm pretty sure you could punch him and he won't even flinch." Alice joked. I looked at her and growled. Why was she joking? I just realized that he is acting like a stubborn ass and won't come out and tell me he likes me himself. He is going to wait forever or not tell me at all.

"Alice, why does your brother have to be so dam frustrating?" I fumed.

"Because Bella, I already told you. He is stubborn! Just like you! And when two stubborn people go to war with one another well, I don't think that war will ever end until one realizes that they need to suck it up and do the right thing." I looked at her stunned. Was she implying that this was _my_ fault? She must have read the emotions on my face because she quickly started talking again.

"Not that I am saying you need to be that person Bella. I'm just trying to say that Edward needs to get his head out of the whole it's been buried in so he could see that what he is doing is going to drive you away from him and straight into Brandon's arms." She said. "And he really doesn't realize it Bella. He doesn't realize that your heart broke when you saw him and Tanya together after we told you he liked you. But, he doesn't know that we did so he just thinks that you aren't even affected by it and that you still don't like him."

"Why? Why does he think that I don't like him?" I asked still frustrated. I could feel my eyes sting with tears and I tried to blink them away but they just kept coming until they pooled over.

"I'm so sorry but I honestly don't know Bella. I've tried and tried to get that through his thick stubborn skull but he won't listen to me. He just thinks I'm telling him what I think he wants to hear so he would feel better. Even Eli has tried to tell him that you do, but he just won't listen to us." She said and gave me a hug. I was just about to ask her something else when Rose popped her head in the door.

"Hey guys, you've been in here a while, is everything all right?" She asked and looked at me. When she saw me trying to wipe the tears off of my cheeks she came all the way into the restroom. "Are you okay Bella?" She asked apprehensively. I just nodded my head yes. I didn't trust my voice; more tears would probably come if I tried to talk.

"She's fine. We were just discussing the whole Edward situation." Alice answered for me and put her arm around my shoulder.

"Oh –okay. Well, the guys are already in the theatre holding our seats. Are you guys ready or did you want some more time? I will let the guys know that you two are all right." Rose said

I took a deep breath and nodded my head. "Yeah, I'm fine. We can go now."

"Are you sure?" Alice asked me

"Yeah, lets go get this gore fest over with." They both laughed and I giggled.

"Okay, lets go." Alice said. We followed Rose into the theatre our movie was playing in and walked up the steps to our seats. Emmett had a seat empty to his left, which was for Rose. Jasper had an empty seat to his left, which was obviously for Alice. And Edward also had an empty seat to his left, which was for me. Damn it.

"Hey, it's about time you guys made it. The movie is about to start." Emmett said. Oh yay, I can't wait.

"Sorry, what can I say, once you get into girl talk it's hard to get out. We honestly didn't know we were in there that long." Alice said. She stepped aside and let me go through the aisle first. She was right; I had forgotten we were even at the movies!

I went down the aisle praying that I didn't trip over Jaspers feet. I reached Edward who stood up when I approached so I could pass by him easier. Before I passed him I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned around to see Alice smiling at me, and I knew she was trying to silently tell me that it was going to be all right. I gave her a smile to say thank you and then passed Edward to take my seat.

My heart started pounding, not only because I was sitting next to Edward, but also because the movie was going to start any minute now. So, I looked around to try and ease my mind. The lights were still on so I could see all the rows and everyone's faces. We were dead center in the middle. Great, if I had to escape I will probably kill myself trying to get out of here in the dark! I felt someone staring at me in another row a few down from ours and I saw a guy I've never seen before. He looked to be in his twenties with long dirty blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail and he had blue eyes. When my eyes met his, I shivered. Not out of enjoyment, but out of fear. There was definitely something about those eyes that scared the crap out of me. I heard a growl come from my right and I looked at Edward who was glaring deadly at the guy that I was staring at. I looked back at him and noticed that he was smirking at Edward. What on earth was that guy playing at? This was scarier than any movie!

The lights began to dim until it was almost pitch black and the surround sound blasted through the theatre, causing me to jump. Oh gosh, here we go. I pulled my jacket off and brought it around to my front so I could use it as a shield when I wanted to cover my eyes. I heard Edward chuckle from beside me and I noticed he was looking at me. I glared at him, which only made Edward chuckle more before he turned his head back to the screen. It was only previews right now, but I still wanted to be prepared.

When the movie finally came on, I was a complete wreck. I hid behind my jacket and jumped at almost every little thing. When a Zombie jumped out of nowhere and attacked a poor girl who was trying to get away, I screamed and curled up into a little ball on my seat. I brought my knees to up my chest so I could hide my face in them and muffle any other screams that I let loose. Then suddenly I felt something touch my left shoulder. I jumped and screamed again and almost fell out of my seat. Oh great! The zombies are after me! I knew it. Damn you zombies! I'm too young to die!

"Bella, are you all right?" I heard an angelic voice ask me from my right. I turned to see Edward looking at me concerned and realized that he was trying to put his arm around my shoulder to comfort me but I jumped and screamed because I thought it was something trying to get me. I didn't know what to say. Was I all right? I just looked at him stunned.

"Come on, I think you need to get some fresh air." He said. He took my hand and I just let him lead me through the dark aisle. I almost fell from tripping over someone's feet, but Edward caught me. We continued on and out of the theatre. Once we were out and headed to the lobby, I sighed in relief. I hate scary movies, I hate zombies, I hate the dumb people in the movies who don't get away when they should and let themselves get killed, and I hate Emmett for making me see this movie!

Edward still held my hand as he continued walking through the lobby and he led me outside. Once the cool night air hit my face. I was beginning to feel a little better. Edward walked over to some benches that were in front of the theatre and sat us down.

I was disappointed though when Edward let go of my hand as soon as we were seated. My mind was so out of it when we were walking that I hardly even registered that he was holding it. But, now that he wasn't, I felt like something was missing. Like, when he let go, he took a part of me with him. That's strange, I never felt that way when Brandon let go of my hand.

"Bella, are you all right?" He asked me concerned I looked at him and noticed that his eyes looked a little amused.

"Yeah, I think I am." I said nervously. "Uh – thank you for getting me out of there."

He chuckled. "No problem. I have never seen anyone so scared in my life just sitting there watching a movie."

"Yeah, What can I say? I hate scary movies." I said with a shiver as a replay of zombies and blood and helpless victims being killed and terrorized flashed through my mind. Yep, I am not going to have any problems sleeping tonight. Nope, no sir.

"I'm sorry, you must be cold." He said as he began to take off his Forks High football jacket. I looked down and noticed I left my jacket on my seat when Edward grabbed my hand to get me out of that god-awful movie. Before I knew it, I felt warmth as Edward's jacket wrapped around my shoulders. I looked at him shocked and he laughed.

"What? You don't like the jacket?" he asked me.

"Uh – no. I mean yes, but um, won't you be cold?" I asked him.

"I will be fine Bella. Trust me, you need it more than I do right now. Alice should have got you a long sleeve shirt." He said with a frown.

"It's fine. I actually like it." I said as I played with a hem on my shirt. I looked back at him and noticed he was staring at me contently.

"What?" I asked and blushed. He blinked and shook his head as if he was trying to clear it.

"Nothing. I was just thinking you look good in that jacket." He said and gave me one of his gorgeous crooked grins. I immediately felt the warmth in my cheeks deepen and I looked back down in hopes that he didn't see it.

I can't believe this. Here I am, sitting outside of a movie theater with Edward wearing his football jacket that smelled just like him. If I could, I would keep it. And, I can't believe he his willingly talking to me again. I actually felt at ease sitting here with him and this is the happiest I have felt since the beach trip. Despite all these good feelings, I felt bad though because I was making him miss the movie.

"I'm sorry I'm making you miss the rest of the movie. You can go back in if you like, I will be fine." I apologized and looked back up at him. He smiled his intoxicating crocked grin.

"It's all right. I'm kind of glad you freaked out because I was thinking about walking out on the movie myself." He said and chuckled.

"You don't like horror movies?" I asked shocked.

"Not in particular. It depends on the movie I guess. But, that one was one of the worst I have ever seen." He said.

"Oh." I said down at my hands.

"Um, I know you have only been here a couple of weeks but, did you know that guy that was staring at you inside before the movie started?" He asked me. I was surprised because it seemed like they knew each other.

"No. I have never seen that guy before in my life." I said. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just the way he was staring at you, it was like he knew you or something." He said and broke our gaze.

"Oh, well. No, I don't know him. I noticed him staring at me though. I don't know why but that guy gave me the creeps." I said with another shiver as I remembered his intense blue eyes staring right into mine. Edward must have seen me shiver again and thought I was still cold because he scooted closer to me on the bench.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about him. I don't blame him for staring at you though." He said softly to me. I looked up into his piercing green eyes and saw something in them I couldn't quiet identify. I don't know how long we stayed like that, just staring into each other's eyes. It felt like hours went by, even years. But, when I wished that we could stay like this forever, our locking gaze was broken.

"I'm gonna get you!" Someone shouted and grabbed my shoulders from behind. I shrieked and nearly jumped out of my skin causing me to almost fall off the bench completely. I was thankful though; since Edward was so close, he put his arm around my waist to keep me from falling.

"Emmett! You are such an ass!" Edward hissed from my side. I was trying to get my breathing back to normal. "Bella, are you alright?"

I just nodded my head and looked up. I noticed Rose was scolding Emmett for nearly scaring me to death. Alice and Jasper were standing in front of us grinning and looking amused. I knew if Emmett didn't scare me, Alice would have. But, I noticed she was looking at the arm holding me in place. I felt my whole body warm up from his touch and I was enjoying the feeling of his arm around my waist.

"Apologize Emmett!" Rose said with a glare. Emmett sighed and came over to me. He grabbed my hand and nearly yanked me up from my position on the bench, into one of his bear hugs. Damn it. I wanted Edwards arm to stay there longer.

"I'm sorry Bells. I shouldn't have scared you, but it was hilarious!" Emmett said and squeezed me tighter as he laughed.

"Em –Emmett." I squeaked out and swatted at his back, hoping he would understand that I was doing it in need of air!

"Emmett, if you aren't going to scare her to death then you sure as hell are going to squeeze her death. Let her go." Edward warned.

"Oh, shit! Sorry Bella." He chuckled and let me go.

"S'okay." I breathed out and wobbled a bit. Whoa. I felt a little lightheaded.

"Oh, here's your jacket Bella. You left it on your seat." Alice said as she held out my jacket. I grabbed it but before I pulled away, Alice smiled at me and winked.

Darn, now that I have my own jacket, I have to give Edwards back. I hardly doubt he would like to squeeze into mine. I shrugged his jacket off my shoulders and handed it back to Edward.

"Thank you." I said and put my own jacket.

"No problem." He said and smiled as he put it back on.

"So, where do you guys want to eat? I'm starving!" Emmett said.

"How can you be _starving_? You practically devoured a whole large tub of popcorn, plus a box of cookie dough bites, plus the rest of my pretzel!" Rosalie said in disbelief.

"What can I say? I'm a growing boy." Emmett said and patted his stomach. We all laughed.

"Hm…how about that Italian restaurant on the boardwalk?" Alice asked as she looked around at all of us for our replies.

"Sounds good to me!" Emmett said.

"Yeah, that should be fine." Edward said. The rest of us agreed.

"Okay! Lets get going!" Alice said excitedly. Then she turned to Jasper and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to ride with Edward and Bella again. I will see you there."

Alice took my arm again and we walked in the direction of Edwards Volvo. This time, Edward walked by my side. When we reached it, Alice let go of my arm and was already holding the handle to the back passengers seat. She smiled evilly at me and when Edward was unlocking my door, she stuck her tongue out at me. Evil Alice and her mouse like speed!

Once we were all inside and buckled up, Edward started the engine and pulled out of the parking spot. As we were driving, I heard a low melody playing through the speakers that I hadn't noticed on the way here. I recognized it at once.

"_Clair De Lune_." I murmured to myself.

"You like Debussy?" Edward asked from my left. I didn't even realize he heard me. I turned to look at him and noticed he was smiling with a shock look on his face.

"Yes. This one is my favorite. When I was little, my mother use to play it for me all the time. Especially before I went to bed. I guess you can say it was my lullaby." I said and smiled back at him.

"What is your mother like?" Edward asked me while he drove.

"Oh, my mother is amazing. She is a strong woman that I look up to and I love her more than anything. She can do things to make our roles reversed but sometimes I don't mind it. Whenever she needed me to be there for her, to help put her back on her feet, I was glad I could be the one to help her." I said a little sad as my mother's face flashed in my head. I felt guilty because I haven't kept in touch with her much and I missed her terribly. She was the one who do most of the calling.

"That's nice. If you don't mind me asking, why did you move to live with your dad?" He asked and looked at me briefly before he turned his eyes back on the road.

"Well, my mom is like a free spirited person. She loves traveling and she loves to believe that she can stay young forever. Well, when she fell in love with a guy who loved most of things she loved, they basically got married. I remember seeing her so happy just being around him. I have never seen my mom that happy. And when his job required him to move to Florida, my mom didn't want to make me unhappy so she told him to stick with the job in Phoenix until I was done with school. I could tell she really wanted to go though. Traveling and seeing the world was what she had always wanted and I didn't want to be the one to stop that from happening. So, I decided to move in with my dad. Give her some time with Phil and let her do what she wanted without me being in the way." I breathed out. Wow. I hadn't even meant to spill all that out to him. It just came out. I felt like I could tell him all my deep dark secrets I hid away from everyone. What was going on?

"Oh…so, let me get this straight. You moved here so your mother can be happy even if it made you unhappy to move away from her?" he asked me astounded.

"Yep…that's pretty much it." I said embarrassed. Why was he so shocked?

"Wow. Don't get me wrong, Bella, what you did was remarkable. But, there aren't a lot of people out there in this world who would sacrifice their own happiness just to make another someone happy. Not even if it was a loved one." He said still shocked.

"That's our Bella! She would probably gladly give up her heart to someone if it meant to save their life even though she would die." Alice said form the back seat. I almost forgot she was back there. She was being so quiet it was unusual. But, she was right. If anyone of my loved ones needed my heart to survive, I would gladly give it up to them.

"So, what is this Phil person like?" Edward asked curiously. Oh great. I was hoping no one would ask me that. I did not want to get on the topic of Phil.

"Um – Well. He's ah…Can we not talk about him?" I asked feeling uncomfortable and looked out my side window at the passing town. I felt Edwards concerned gaze on me but I didn't look back.

"Um…Sure. We don't have to talk about him if you don't wan to." He said reassuringly.

"So Bella. I noticed at lunch you had a picture of your mom in your wallet. Can I see it?" Alice asked me from the back seat. I could tell she was trying to change the subject off of Phil and I wished I could hug her for it.

"Sure." I took my wallet out of my jacket pocket and pulled the picture out. I turned in my seat and handed it to Alice.

"Oh wow. She is very pretty Bella. I could so tell that you get your looks from her. Your hair on the other hand…"Alice put her finger in the top of her chin and looked at me with a studying expression.

"Charlie's." I said with a giggle. Charlie and I had the same mahogany brown hair that was slightly curled.

"Yep. Knew it!" she said and laughed. Well duh, he is my dad. Who else would it be?

"Would you like to see her Edward?" Alice asked and handed me back the photo. I was going to tell him he should wait until we are parked.

"Of course." He said and held out his hand. I placed the picture in it and he looked down at it and studied it just like Alice had. Of course, he kept his eyes on the road driving like a pro.

"She is beautiful Bella. But, I would have to say, both her and Charlie made an amazingly more beautiful daughter." He said and handed me back the photo. I stared at him in shock. Did he just say that? Judging by the giggle that came from the back seat he must have said what I thought he did.

"Uh… Th –thank you." I stuttered out like an idiot. I saw his crooked grin form on his lips even though his head was turned towards the road. I put the picture back in my wallet with shaky hands and sat the wallet down on the dashboard.

We pulled into a parking lot by the pier and Edward parked into the empty space next to Emmett's jeep. We all got out and looked around. I was met with the smell of the ocean and I could hear the waves crashing down on the beach. Surprisingly, for it being a Friday night, there weren't a lot of people out. There were only about five other cars in the parking lot and only a few people walking around by the beach shops and pier.

"You guys ready to eat?" Emmett said with a giant grin.

"Yeah yeah. Lets go!" Alice said excitedly as she put her arm around Jasper's waist and began to lead the group to the pier.

As we walked, I couldn't help but smile as Edward walked next to me. I was glad he was talking to me again. In fact, I think this is the most we have ever said to one another. I looked out at the dark waves that seemed to go on forever. I also looked around at all the little shops on the pier and restaurants. There were hardly any people in them and some were even closed, probably due to the lack of customers.

We finally reached the end of it and I was slightly taken aback. I was expecting some little Italian restaurant that looked like a taco shack. But boy was I mistaken. It was a beautiful restaurant that actually looked like it belonged in Italy. We walked through the front doors and towards the host who was standing at a podium.

I looked around and noticed that everything about it looked expensive. Too expensive. If they didn't let me pay for my part of the bill I will certainly throw a fit. Emmett already bought my movie ticket and I felt bad that I didn't even stay to finish watching it.

Edward walked up to the host to tell him how many people were in our party. I put my hand in my jacket pocket expecting it to grab my wallet but I was surprised when my pocket was empty. Oh way to go Bella! I left my wallet on Edwards's dashboard.

"Alice, did Edward leave the Volvo unlocked?" I asked

"Um, I think so. Why?" She asked me curiously.

"I left my wallet in the car and I wanted to go get it." Recognition dawned on her pixie face.

"Oh. Okay. Yeah, I think it's unlocked. But, Bella you know you don't have to pay for anything right? I got your bill." She said.

"No Alice, I should at least pay for my half" I argued.

"Nope. You couldn't even if you wanted to. Trust me, Edward would pay for you if I didn't and there is no way you could win a paying fight with him." She said with a giggle. Oh great, she was probably right. But, my wallet was sitting on the dashboard in the open and if someone saw that the car was unlocked, they might steel it.

"Okay, But, I still want to get it. It's sitting right on the dashboard and if someone saw it they could easily steel it since the Volvo is unlocked, I will be right back." I said.

"Okay, but be careful." Alice said. I headed out of the doors and walked back out into the chilly ocean air.

When I reached Edwards car, I was just about to open the passenger door handle when suddenly someone put their hand tightly around my mouth. I screamed into the person's hand and tried to get away when their other hand came around and held me tight to them. I prayed to god that whomever it was-was someone I knew and was just playing a prank on me. It's probably Emmett trying to scare me again. But then I heard the persons voice and I was suddenly aware that whoever was doing this, was not Emmett or anyone else that I recognized

"Don't even think about it. If you so much as make a single sound, I swear that it will be the last one you will ever make." A voice whispered deadly in my ear and tightened his grip on me. I felt my knees shake and my breath go ragged. I prayed to god that someone would come and find me before this maniac got to do whatever it was he wanted to do with me.

**AN: Well, did I do good? I hope you all liked it. Like I said before, it took me a while to break through that writers block but I finally did and this is what came to my mind. I thought I would start to add a little more Bella and Edward in there now I hope it's not too soon for it. But, anyways…. please let me know what you thought about this chapter or even my story all together. I would greatly appreciate it. I have some ideas for my next chapter and the first part has already been written so it won't take me as long to post, hopefully. Oh, and just to let you know, I am also writing another story. I believe it will be called _Forever Immortal _or _Forever Immortality. _I have the summary and info about it up on my profile. But, don't you worry my peeps. You will see Edwards's version of this story first! Now, I just have to figure out a title for that one.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight, all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: Hello everyone! Again, I apologize for the looong wait for this chapter and the big cliffy at the end of the other one but I couldn't decide where to split these chapters. I initially made a really really really long chapter but I decided to split it up and edit some of it. But, this part is finished so I hope you enjoy it. I am definitely feeling anxious about what you guys think of this one!**

**And, to my most wonderful, most amazing reviewers, I LOVE YOU ALL!! :) Thank you so-so much for the great reviews you guys. I give you all big giant Emmett Bear Hugs for your reviews and help!!! :)**

Ch. 8

My panicked eyes looked frantically around the dark parking lot in search for someone, anyone but I noticed that there wasn't a single person around. Why was it whenever you needed someone the most, they are nowhere to be found? Edward, Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Emmett were still in the restaurant and didn't even know that this was happening to me at the moment. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest and I struggled to get free from my attackers tight grasp. What am I going to do? Please God, help me!

"I'd quit struggling if I were you." The deadly voice whispered to me again. I stopped struggling when I felt something poke the middle of my back. I didn't even want to know what it was. It felt like it could be either a knife or a gun.

I felt him pull me slowly backwards and away from Edwards' car. Oh no. What is he planning on doing with me?

"Now that's a good girl. We wouldn't want to cause any attention to ourselves would we?" He asked me still whispering. Oh no, a girl who had her mouth covered and was being gripped by some deranged man in an empty dark parking lot wouldn't bring any attention to someone walking by. If I weren't in such a life-threatening situation, I would have rolled my eyes at him.

"Would we?" He asked me again, this time his voice was full of menace. He stopped walking and took one of my arms that was being held behind my back and twisted it in a direction it wasn't meant to go. I felt a slight crack which caused me to cry out in pain into his hand and shook my head no vigorously hoping it would make him stop twisting my arm. I knew it was probably broken.

"Good." He said as he continued moving away from Edwards' car. I felt tears stream down my face in waves of panic. I was in so much pain and I was so scared. I had no clue where he was taking me. And worse, I had no clue what he was going to do to me.

"Hey! Get your hands off her!" I heard my beautiful angels voice shout angrily from behind us. See, I always knew he was an angel. I felt relief but also dread. A part of me wanted to scream to him, tell him to stay away from this maniac. What if he did have a gun? He could shoot Edward easily.

In one quick motion, I didn't even see it coming or happening, but I was suddenly facing Edward. My attacker took whatever was pointed at my back and for a moment I thought he really was going to shoot him, but he brought it up to my neck. I felt my heart almost pound out of my chest when I realized it was a knife. A cold sharp knife that was digging into my neck.

"Don't you move! I swear if you come any closer, I will slice her throat!" My attacker said from behind me. I looked at Edward in fear and saw a look of both terror and torment on his beautiful face.

"Okay – okay. I won't move. Just please let her go." Edward pleaded to him and held his hands up in surrender. I still could not keep the tears from spilling out of my eyes. I was not only scared about what was going to happen to me, but what if he did something to Edward? Oh God, I can't let anything happen to him!

"No! She is coming with me!" My attacker said. He began to lead me backwards and I took a sharp intake of breath when more pain surged through my broken arm as he yanked on it.

"Please. I will give you whatever you want, but please, just let her go." Edward pleaded again, only this time he sounded frustrated. I could tell he was starting to lose his patience with him. This caused my attacker to laugh wickedly. I felt more chills go down my spine at his laugh.

"Look, I know you probably care for her, I saw you sitting with her in the movie theater. But, there is no way I am letting this one get away from me!" He growled. Despite my fear, I was confused. What did he mean by Edward sitting next to me in the movie theater? How did he know?

"Yeah, and I saw you staring at her as if she was a piece of meat like some kind of animal!" Edward snarled at him. Oh. My. God. A flash of deep blue eyes and blond hair flashed in my mind. My attacker is the guy from the theater! The one whose eyes scared the crap out of me. Well, now more than just his stare is scaring the crap out of me.

My attacker ignored Edwards comment and continued leading me backwards. I realized we were approaching a running car because I could hear the engine running. I looked around the dark parking lot, searching to see if anyone has spotted us. There was still no one around. It felt like I was trapped in a nightmare. Surely if someone saw a man holding a knife to a girls throat, would cause them to call the police right? RIGHT?

"Let. Her. Go." Edward gritted through his teeth when he didn't respond.

"No." He said laughing evilly.

"You let her go now or else…!" Edward began to yell but stopped when he realized he couldn't really make a threat to someone who had a weapon and he didn't.

"Or else what? Huh? What are you going to do about it?" He pressed the side of his face on my cheek and I shuttered. I could practically feel his wicked smile creep up on his face. I looked up at Edward who started to move closer to us.

"That's right. Come closer! Once I slice her neck then I will slice yours too!" He said. Panic shot through me then. No! He cannot hurt Edward! Stupid Edward, stop moving forward your going to get yourself killed! I started to struggle. I didn't care if I had a knife at my neck, there was no way I was going to let him hurt Edward because of me and Edward just kept trying to make his way over to us slowly. My struggling caused my attacker to move his had away from my mouth to get a better hold one me and I took this chance to want Edward.

"No Edward! Don't come closer!" I yelled at him still struggling to get out of his grasp. But, Edward wouldn't listen to me.

"Bella…" He began but he was cut off.

"Yeah _Edward_. You better listen to Bella." My attackers voice snarled. Oh god. He's going to kill both of us. I just know it. I continued struggling but I knew it was useless. I was never going to be able to escape his grasp and there was no way he would let me go.

"Stop struggling with me! Victoria! Get out here!" He turned his head and yelled. I heard a car door open and the sound of high heels come closer.

"Get the back ready so I can keep my eye on _him_. Also, it looks like we are going to need more rope since we have two now." He said to the Victoria person. I heard her high heels click back towards the sound of the running vehicle and heard a loud squeak as another door opened. Get the back ready? What on earth did he mean by that?

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard sirens blast through the parking lot coming from behind us and the sound of cars screeching to a halt. Then things seemed to go by in slow motion. My attacker threw me hard to the side causing me to slam into the asphalt of the parking lot. I landed on my broken arm and my head slammed down into the ground with a sickening thud. My whole body went numb and my eyes closed instantly.

Oh no. I have to keep my eyes open! I have to make sure Edward will be all right. But, no matter how hard I tried to open them, I could only see darkness. It was strange though because my hearing seemed to zone in on everything around me. I heard a slamming door and then car tires pealing out as a car took off and I heard sirens follow. I heard loud voices shouting and then suddenly I heard a loud bang that rang through the cold night air and a thud come from in front of me. Oh God. Don't let that be Edward, please don't let that be Edward!

"Bella!" I heard my angels voice call as it came closer to me. If I could have, I would have breathed a sigh of relief. Oh thank god that wasn't him!

"Bella, can you hear me? It's going to all right Bella." I heard him say. I felt my hearing start to fade out on me and I tried hard to keep myself semi-conscious. I have to stay awake. I was beginning to get frustrated. I have to know what happened. Who got shot? Did my attacker get away? What was going on?

I began to smell blood and I knew my head must have been bleeding. The smell was making me nauseous and wasn't helping my fight of consciousness. I tried focusing on my hearing again and I heard more sounds come from around me and I could have sworn I heard someone scream. Then, I heard footsteps running over to us.

"Oh my god, Bella!" I heard someone say in fright. I recognized the voice of my pixie friend. I must have looked awful sprawled out on the asphalt face down because she started sobbing.

"Miss, can you please go over to the police officer by the patrol car? You too sir. I need this area cleared for the ambulance and Deputy Wilson would like to take your statement now if you are not hurt." I heard a woman's voice say.

"No, I'm not hurt. But may I please stay with her until the ambulance comes? I will go straight over to Deputy Wilson once they arrive but please, let me stay with her until then." I heard Edward plea to the woman. He sounded so broken I wish I could reach out to him and reassure him that I would be ok.

The woman seemed to pause and all's I could hear was poor Alice's sobs. But finally she answered, "Okay sir. But as soon as that ambulance comes, you need to be out of the way. Understand?" I waited for a reply but didn't hear one. He must have shaken his head at her.

"Alright, but you miss, you have to wait over by the patrol car with your friends." I heard the woman say to Alice and heard both of their footsteps retreat as well as the sobs from my frightened friend.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry Bella. I should have come out to the car with you. Why didn't you ask me to come with you?" I heard him whisper to me quietly. I felt a hand on my back rubbing soothing circles Oh my, he better stop that or else I really will be unconscious.

"You're going to be okay Bella. I just wish this didn't happen to you. If I was there this would have never happened!" I heard his whisper again this time his voice sounded angry and I was shocked to hear that it sounded like he was also on the verge of tears. I can't believe he is blaming himself for this! I wanted to tell him that it was my fault! My own stupid fault. I should have asked him to come with me. Or, I should have just left my wallet. There was no one in the parking lot or hardly around, who was going to steel it?

I heard sirens coming closer to us and that was when I started to lose my battle completely. I tried and tired to keep myself from falling all the way into the darkness but my hearing was fading out and even though the sirens were coming closer, I heard them as if they were still in the distance. And, the only other thing I heard before the darkness took me completely was Edwards's sorrowful voice whispering to me that he was sorry and this was all his fault.

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_Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…_You stupid evil alarm clock! I swear I will shove you down the garbage disposal, shred you up into pieces and never let you have the chance to wake me up again!

I groaned and tried to roll over when my head began to spin and a throbbing pain started to make it's self-known in both my head and my arm. I groaned. What was going on? Why does it feel like I haven't had a minutes sleep? Why is my bed so lumpy? Why does my right arm feel so heavy? What on earth is on my nose? And why is my alarm clock _still_ beeping?

I snapped my eyes opened and almost regretted it when a bright light blinded me from above. I blinked rapidly trying to get my eyes to adjust to the lighting and also try to clear my vision. Once I could see, I looked around the white room and realized I was not in my bedroom.

I was in the hospital lying in a very uncomfortable bed. The walls of my room were all white with nothing on them. No pictures, no paintings, no posters, no anything. It was all plain. There was a window to my left with the blinds wide open. It looked like it was day out but I had no clue what time of day it was. The beeping noise was coming from my left as well and I realized it was a heart monitor, not my evil alarm clock trying to wake me up. I looked down at my arm to figure out why it was so heavy, and I groaned when I saw the white plaster covering my right arm from my wrist to my elbow. _Great_, just great.

I looked to my right and saw a pale blue chair that was unoccupied and there was also a little dresser. I was surprised to see about a dozen bouquets of different types of flowers and some cards that were sitting on top of the dresser. There were also about five get-well balloons hovering next to it and a few bags full of what I didn't know. Knowing Alice though, they were cloths.

Okay, I know where I am. But, why am I in here? Knowing me I probably fell down the stairs and got a concussion. It sure felt like I did.

"Oh Bella, thank god you're awake!" I turned my head to the door and I was shocked.

"Mom!" I gasped. I looked up at my mother as she came in and sat down in the chair next to my bed. Oh my, she looked awful; like she had been in the clothes she was wearing for days and she looked absolutely sleep deprived.

"Oh Bella, I'm so glad you are awake sweetie. How are you feeling?" She asked me and I saw tears begin to well up on her big brown eyes.

"I'm doing okay I guess. My arm and head hurts though and my right side is kind of soar." I said trying to keep my tears away. I couldn't believe my mom was sitting here with me. I missed her so much. "Um- how are you doing mom?"

"I'm doing better now that I know you are awake." She said and smiled at me as she rubbed the back of my right hand. Even that small gesture made me want to cry.

"How long have I been a sleep?" I asked.

"Well, it's Wednesday and you've pretty much been out of it since Friday." She said with a frown. What? It's Wednesday?

"I've been a sleep for five days!" I said panicked. "What on earth happened?"

"Honey, you don't remember?" She asked confused.

" I remember going to the movies in Port Angeles with Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rose on Friday night. And then I remember going to an Italian restaurant on the boardwalk. Oh, and I remember I forgot my wallet in Edwards car so I went out to the parking lot to get it but, everything after that is a bit blurry." I said. What is going on here? Why can't I remember? And why do I feel like I've been hit by a dump truck? Oh god, was I…

"I didn't get hit by a car out in the parking lot did I?" I asked. It sure sounded like something that would happen to me. I attracted danger like I was some sort of magnet.

"Sweetie, no, you weren't hit by a car. You probably don't remember because you hit your head pretty hard. The doctor said you had a severe concussion. We were so scared that you were going to be in a coma. If you weren't awake by Friday, the doctors were going to do some more tests on you to make sure that everything healed properly." She explained to me. I looked at Renee in confusion. Okay, not hit by a car or dump truck. But then what the hell happened? She must have read the confusion on my face because she answered my question.

"Honey, you were attacked by a man in the parking lot." She said with uncertainty as if she was debating on telling me the truth or not. Wait…attacked…Oh my god! I remember! I didn't even get to open Edwards door to get my wallet because the guy from the theater grabbed me and put his hand around my mouth. Renee must have seen the panic look on my face.

"Oh I knew I shouldn't have told you yet. I should have let it come back to you on your own. Are you okay? Do you want me to get the doctor?" She asked concerned.

"No – no. It's okay mom. It's just, I'm starting to remember what happened now." I was remembering other things too. Like when he broke my arm, which explained the cast. I also remember Edward coming out and my attacker shoving a knife against my throat. Then, there was a lady, what was her name? And then there were loud sirens and the next thing I knew I was shoved to the ground, hard, hitting my head. The last thing I remember was Edwards voice saying that it was all his fault.

"Mom, is – Edward okay?" I asked a little panicked.

"He is fine Bella. Trust me, he isn't even hurt. A little emotionally scarred probably and he keeps apologizing to Charlie and I saying that he was sorry and what happened to you was all his fault, which I don't understand how it could have been…" My mom's voice trailed off as if she was thinking why he did.

"That's because it wasn't his fault mom." I groaned. I still can't believe that he was blaming himself. "I don't know why he thinks it is either."

"Oh, well he is a very nice young man Bella, I'm sure he was worried about you. He still is. In fact, he only leaves the hospital in the mornings to go home and change for school. Then, once school is out, he comes right back here." My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. He was that worried about _me_? He stayed and slept in this bloody hospital for five days? Just to be here for _me_? I was absolutely stunned. I wonder what Tanya thought about it all.

"I asked him if you two were going out. He said no, you two were just friends. But, I don't know. Something about him tells me that he's more than just a friend to you. Was he lying to me Bella?" My mom asked me curiously.

"No mom, we are just friends. In fact he already has a girlfriend and trust me, I'm not her." I said. I was confused though. Are Edward and I really even friends? I honestly didn't know what we were to one another.

"Oh okay. Well, you look absolutely tired Bella. I think I'm going to go tell the others that you are awake now so the doctor can come in and take a look at you. We will notify the police that you are awake also, but we will tell them to come tomorrow so you can visit with your everyone today and also get some more rest." My mother said. She stood up from the chair and smoothed my hair back above my bandage.

"I've missed you so much Bella. Are you sure you want to stay here? I can talk to Charlie and get you to come back to Jacksonville with me." She said as more tears started to from in her eyes. God, I hate hurting her. But, I know she is probably enjoying herself with Phil and living like newlyweds should.

"I've missed you too mom, but I'm sure. Besides, this small town is starting to grow on me." I said to her with a reassuring smile. Wow. Who'd of thought I would be saying that about Forks?

"All right." She sighed. "But, anytime you want to come live with Phil and I, just let me know okay? I know you and Phil aren't on the best of terms right now, but he is willing to try Bella."

I sighed. Yeah, that's what he said the first time. "Okay mom."

"Oh, and promise me you will at least come and visit me for one holiday?" She asked hopeful. Moving back in with them, no. Visiting them, now that I could do.

"I promise mom." I said smiling up at her and she smiled back. "How long are you going to be here?"

"Probably for a couple more days. Especially now that I know you are all right." She said.

"Oh okay." I said sadly. I can't believe that she is going to leave here and I won't see her again for a while. I just wished we could spend some time together without me being stuck in a hospital bed.

"I'm going to go let Charlie know that you are awake okay?" She said and stopped her petting.

"All right." I sighed not really wanting her to leave but I couldn't wait to see who was here.

"Okay honey, I will see you in a little while." She said. She gave me one last smile and headed out the door.

I still can't believe I went through all of that. Why did the guy from the theater want to kidnap me? I wonder if he followed us to the restaurant. But, how did he know I would walk out by myself? There's no way he would have attempted to kidnap me if I did ask Edward to come out to the car with me.

"Hey Bells." Charlie said quietly as he came in through the doorway. Gosh, he looks as bad as mom.

"Hey dad."

"How are you doing?" He asked as he sat down in the chair that Renee was in.

"Oh, I could be better I guess. I just wish I didn't feel like I fell down a flight of stairs." I said with a sigh.

He chuckled and replied, "Well, fortunately you didn't. Knowing you if you did, you'd break a lot more than just an arm."

"Yeah, probably." I said with a giggle. I could tell that Charlie looked uncomfortable. He probably didn't know how to act around a daughter who almost got killed by some maniac with a knife and hit her head, which almost left her in a comatose state.

"I assume your mother told you everything?" He asked.

"Yep. She told me everything from what happened last Friday and what's been going on while I was 'sleeping'." I said. Charlie immediately looked relieved.

"That's good. You know, your friends have been coming here practically every day to come see you. That's where all of this came from, well some of it. Most of it came from Alice." He said with a chuckle as he indicated all my get well soon gifts. I chuckled too. Leave it to Alice to go buy anything she could find in this hospital.

"Figures. Alice tries to find any little excuse to go over board on shopping." I said.

"Yeah. She's a nice girl, just like Eli. Well except, she's a little more ah- hyper. " He said. "Oh, and there's that boy too that was always here, more than the others. In fact, it seems like he never leaves..." He mumbled the last part and he looked like he was deep in thought.

"Oh, you mean Edward." I said and looked down at my hands. I could already feel the heat burn in my cheeks.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…Edward." He said and I felt his eyes on me. "You would tell me if you two were involved in anything, you know…more than friendship right?"

I looked up at him and in shock. "Of course dad. We are just friends and only friends. If we ever did become more…" Which I hardly doubted, "…then I would let you know."

"Oh okay." He sighed. For the second time since I've seen him today he looked relieved.

"Um…what time is it?" I asked.

Charlie looked at his watch. "It's almost three in the afternoon. Eli and Alice are here; they've been leaving early everyday at school to be here just in case you woke up. So, the rest of the gang will probably be here around three thirty." The rest of the gang? Who else have been coming to see me? I was about to ask him when the door to my room opened.

"Good afternoon Bella. I'm glad to finally see you awake." Dr. Cullen said as he made his way over to my bed while holding a chart. He never once stopped smiling and I was starting to feel a little dizzy. Whoa there Bella, stop it! He's Edwards father for crying out loud! Yep, he's Edwards father, he's Edwards father, he's Edwards father…

"So, how are you feeling Bella?" He asked as he put the chart down and came to the left side of my bed.

"Um, I'm feeling okay I guess. I'm mostly just soar and tired." I told him as he took the bandage off of my head.

"Well, your stitches seem to be healing your wound up nicely. You should be able to get them taken out in about another week." He said, still smiling, while placing a clean bandage on my head.

"And now that you are awake, you won't be needing this anymore." He said as he removed the oxygen tubes from under my nose. And lastly, he moved to my arm.

"Your right arm on the other hand will take longer to heel I'm afraid. Both your radius and your ulna are broken." He said lifting it and looking at the cast.

"Oh." Psh, like I know what the heck that means. Why can't doctors just say, you broke your arm and it's going to take time to heel? There, plain and simple. "Um, when exactly do I get to go home?"

"Well, unfortunately I need to do a couple more scans of your head to make sure that everything is healing. You almost fractured your skull but luckily, no more damage other than the concussion was caused. You suffered from major blood loss as well, that's probably another reason why you are so tired and you don't have enough energy. And since you haven't been awake to eat we need to get your nutrition up to health. So, I would like to see you eat something and take some antibiotics to make sure you don't get any infections from your stitches or broken arm." I groaned, why couldn't he just tell me?

"So, how long do I have?" I sighed. He chuckled.

"You should be out of here in about three days Bella. By then we should get your test results and know weather or not there is permanent damage, which I doubt. Plus, you would have your antibiotics started and you should have enough energy to at least walk to the bathroom by yourself."

"Okay." I sighed again. Grrr. I wish I could go home _now_. I hate staying in hospitals! At least before I was a sleep and didn't have any clue where I even was.

"I am going to send a nurse in soon to bring you an Ibuprofen. It should help with any pains in your head and arm. Then, I want you to eat dinner so I can start you on your antibiotics." He said and grabbed the chart he sat down and scribbled away in it.

"Okay Dr. Cullen. I will make sure she does whatever she needs to do. Thank you so much for helping my Bells here. I'm sure if it was another doctor, she would be worse off right now." Charlie said as he got up from his chair and walked over to the doctor.

"Oh, no problem Charlie. And please, call me Carlisle. I am positive if she eats and gets her energy back and takes what she needs, then I am sure she will be better in no time." Carlisle said to Charlie and then turned to me. "Now, I should get going and get those tests ordered. You will be scheduled to get a CT Scan around nine tonight after visiting hours so you will have time to spend it with your family and friends. And speaking of friends, my daughter Alice is probably going to kill me if I don't let her in here to see you soon. Ever since Renee told her that you were awake, she's been bouncing off the walls in the waiting room."

We both laughed. I could just picture her bouncing in her seat impatiently and annoying poor Eli to death.

"All right. I will see you when it is time for your scan Bella." Carlisle said and gave me one last smile before he walked out the door leaving Charlie and I alone once again.

"I should probably let you have some alone time with your friends. I know they are probably anxious to see you." Charlie said. He came over and gave my left hand a squeeze. "Your mom told you about tomorrow right?"

"About the police coming? Yeah, she did." I said.

"Okay. I was just making sure. They will probably just have to discuss what you remembered and also let you know who the man was. " He said. "Well, I will go let Eli and Alice know that they can come see you now. They will probably want to spend some time alone with you before everyone else comes to see you." He said.

"Okay dad. You should go home and get some rest or something." I said. I noticed he didn't have his uniform on so obviously he wasn't going to work this whole time.

"You know what? I think I just might do that. I will be back in a little while." He said.

"All right. I will see you later then."

"Yep, see you later Bells. I am glad that you are doing better." He said and walked out of my room.

I sighed. I wish I could go home now. Can't they just do the tests and then let me go? I can eat at home and the doctor can prescribe me my antibiotics. Why can't they do that? And I am so tired. I can't believe I've been sleeping for five days! It feels like I've been up for five days with no sleep. Despite how exhausted I felt, I wanted to see Eli and Alice though. God, I hope the whole school doesn't show up today. Knowing Alice and Eli, they both would have called everyone, and I mean everyone, letting them all know that the comatose girl was now awake. I wonder if Edward will still come since I am awake and not…

"Bella!" I heard a familiar squeal come from the doorway. And in a flash, she was right by my bedside wrapping me up in her tiny arms.

"Oh my god. Thank goodness you are all right! We have been so worried about you. I can't believe you are alive! I thought you were dead when I saw you lying there on the ground! I should have never let you go out to that stupid car." She rushed out. Don't tell me she's blaming herself for what happened too.

"Whoa whoa. Alice, it's okay." I said and she pulled away. I noticed she had tears in her eyes and it pained me to see them as I remembered hearing her sobs when she found me sprawled out on the parking lots pavement. "It's not your fault Alice. I was the stubborn one who went out to the car. I should have known that my wallet would be fine out there and no one was going to steel it. And you're lucky Edwards not here Alice. What would Edward say if he heard you call his precious Volvo stupid?"

She giggled as she wiped away the tears from her green eyes. "Fine, it's not my fault. And oh well. Let him hear me. It's Edward's stupid shiny Volvo's fault!"

We all laughed. Eli came up on my other side and gave me a gentle hug. "We were really worried about you Bella. We were starting to think that you would never wake up. We are so glad that you are okay." She said as she pulled away.

"Thanks guys." I said as I smiled at my two best friends. I was really starting to feel better already. Alice sat down in the chair that my mom and Charlie used and Eli brought a chair from by the window and sat it down next to Alice's.

"Did you see all of your gifts? The bags and balloons are from Eli and I; the cards are mostly from people from school, and the flowers were from Edward, Brandon, your dad, Jacob and his dad, and also from Eli and I." Alice said excitedly as she grabbed the two big bags and placed them on my bed. "Now open!"

"Alice, can't you wait until she gets a little better at least? The poor thing looks exhausted." Eli said. She was right about that.

"No! She needs something to give her a boost. And what we bought her will make her feel ten times better." Alice said with a smile. I sighed and reached for one of the bags with my left arm and placed it on my lap. I was surprised I had enough strength in that arm to lift it because it was heavy!

"You guys, what on earth is in here? A ton of bricks?" I asked looking at them apprehensively.

"Oh come on Bella, just look inside it!" Alice said impatiently. I rolled my eyes and Eli giggled.

"Trust us Bella, you re going to like it." Eli said confidently. Okay, now her I believe.

"Okay – okay." I said and reached inside with my good arm. Alice held the bag while bouncing up and down. I pulled out several different books. There were five total. One was a new copy of _Romeo and Juliet. _A couple of others were ones that I told Eli that I would like to read someday and the last book caught me by surprise. It was a new copy of _Wuthering Heights. _I actually did an Alice squeal! I was in desperate need of a new one. The front page was about to fall off and some of the pages were wrinkled and torn. Even some of the letters were illegible because they were so faded.

"Oh my gosh, you guys didn't have to do this!" I said as I flipped through the pages of my new copy.

"Of course we did silly Bella! Now you have all these books to read while you are healing." Alice said.

"Yep, we figured you'd get bored in here. Especially when visiting hours are over." Eli said smiling.

"Well, thank you guys. You didn't have to do this but I love them." I said still flipping through the pages.

"See, we told you so. And you were all scared. Why were you scared?" Alice asked as she reached down and grabbed the other bag and replaced the empty one.

"Oh gee, I don't know." I said sarcastically as I looked into the other bag. "Ah hah. This is why." I dug out several blouses, pants, and a pair of shoes from the bag.

"Aw, you know you like them! Plus, I got all the blouses in blue, see!" Alice squealed as she held up one of the blouses that looked a little too revealing in the midriff section. Eli sat back in her chair and watched us with an amused expression.

"Alice." I groaned. "That is way too short. I'm not that type of girl who likes to show off her stomach."

"Oh, but Bella, you have the stomach for it! Trust me, you will look so cute in this and these new pair of skinny jeans!" She squealed for the umpteenth time while she held up both the jeans and blouse. I rolled my eyes at her and Eli laughed.

"And, once you re home and all better, you _are_ coming with me on a shopping spree Bella! It would be so much easier to buy you stuff if you were there." Alice said as she began to fold up the clothes neatly and put them back in the bag. I looked at her horrified. There was no way I was going to be dragged around a mall all day. Not uh. No sir!

"Bella, calm down. I will be there too so I will make sure she doesn't get _too_ out of hand." Eli said as she smirked at Alice.

"Oh ha – ha." Alice said sarcastically.

"Isabella Swan?" I heard someone ask in the doorway. I looked to see a nurse standing in the doorway with a cart.

"Yes?" I asked. The nurse smiled at me and grabbed a jug of water, a cup, and a little plastic cup from the cart.

"My name is Judy, I will be your nurse for today Isabella. I have brought something for your headache and it should help with any other pains you might have." She told me as she handed me the little plastic cup. I looked in it and it had two big white pills inside. I put them in my mouth and swallowed them down with a cup of water that Judy gave me.

"Okay, you are all set. I will see you in a little while to check up on you. And if you need anything just pus the nurse button or have someone come and get me." She said smiling at me and then wheeled the cart out of the door.

After the nurse left, Alice and Eli wanted me to explain to them what happened when I got attacked. I told them everything from what happened when I got out to Edwards car to when I blacked out. I also told them that my attacker was a guy that I had seen in the movie theater. They had told me that Edward told them the same thing but they wanted too know what happened in my point of view. Then, we moved on to the subject of what happened while I was unconscious for a week. And boy did they have a lot to tell me.

"Bella, you won't believe it but Edward has been here like all the time. He only left to go home to change, take a shower, and go to school." Alice said with excitement.

"But, where on earth did he sleep? And, how was he able to stay here but none of you, including Renee and Charlie couldn't?" I asked confused.

"Because silly, Carlisle was able to allow him to stay with you since he's his son and all. I would have stayed with you, but Edward insisted on being here. He hardly ever left your side. And FYI, he slept right here in this very chair." Alice said with a smile as she patted the arms of the chair she was sitting in.

"What? He – he slept here?" I asked bewildered. Why on earth would he do that?

"Yeah, Tanya wasn't at all pleased about that. In fact, she told him to choose. Either leave with her or stay with you. And, he chose you of course. So, she basically broke it off between the two but Edward didn't look so heart broken over it. And, neither did Tanya. She got with Justin Greene the next day." Eli said with a shiver and a grossed out expression on her face. I was shocked. So, Edward and Tanya were no longer together? And, it's all because he chose to stay by my side instead of catering to her needs? His own girlfriend? Holy crow! I looked at Eli and Alice and they were both looking at each other. Alice was raising her eyebrows towards me and Eli gave her a glare. Okay, something's going on here. What did they do now?

"What?" I asked warily looking back and forth between the two. Eli looked at me and sighed.

"I'm sorry Bella, I know it was none of our business to say anything and we should have let you tell him but, I couldn't just leave my brother out in the cold. He was so confused and wanted to know what was going on between you and Edward. We told him that you liked Edward, a lot, and that you also like him but your feelings for him weren't as strong as they were for Edward. But, Brandon said that some of it was his fault also. He knew that Edward liked you since day one, but he didn't consider how it would have affected Edward if you two got together. That was the reason why Edward stopped talking to Brandon. He felt like he was trying to take you away from him on purpose. But Brandon was still upset. He really does like you still Bella and he got upset with Edward because he never left your side. He kept telling me that he should have been the one there for you. He should be the one you first see when you wake, not him, Edward made his mistake on losing you by getting with Tanya. But, on Sunday, he and Edward had a talk. I guess Edward got him to realize how much he really does care for you and that Tanya meant nothing to him. All's he wanted was to be with you, but he still had that fear that you just weren't all that into him. Brandon said that he understood. But now, he only comes for a little while to see you and leaves before any of us do." Eli said sadly looking down at her hands. "We still haven't told Edward how you feel. We felt it best if he heard it coming from you. Besides, if he did tell him he probably wouldn't believe us anyway."

"Oh no." I groaned and put my face in my hands. I could feel the angry tears start to make there way to my eyes. I kept my face hidden so Eli and Alice couldn't see. "I screwed up didn't I? I am so sorry Eli; I didn't mean to hurt your brother."

"Bella, it's okay. Brandon getting hurt in all of this was not your fault. If anything it was mine for trying to push you to him while you were so confused." She explained. I could feel a hand on my shoulder and I didn't dare look up to see whose it belonged to.

"Yeah, it's both our faults Bella, not yours. We both pushed you two together when you clearly had stronger feelings for Edward. And when I saw you two sitting together outside the movie theater, I knew we made a mistake. We should have been pushing you _closer_ to him, not further away." Alice said solemnly. "And, maybe if we would have done that in the first place, Tanya would have been out of the picture a long time ago and Brandon wouldn't have been caught up in the middle of all this."

"I – I ne –need to talk t –to him." I choked out as the tears began to finally fall. I felt awful. How could I have been so selfish and not think that all this was just going to end badly? How could I hurt poor Brandon like this? I need to tell him that I'm sorry. I need to tell him I never meant for any of this to get so, out of hand. I was just so confused and I should have stopped all of this along time ago. But, how was I to know that Edward would suddenly do a one eighty and decide that he didn't want Tanya anymore because he'd rather be here with me? I honestly thought that he would never leave Tanya and I would have been waiting forever for him. So, I turned to Brandon thinking that I would always have him if Edward never came to his senses. God, I am so stupid. I have used the sweetest guy I have ever meat and basically ruined any chance with him.

"Bella?" I heard a worried angelic voice ask from the doorway. I knew whom it belonged to but I couldn't look up at him, I couldn't even speak. I was so upset. I needed to see Brandon; I needed to talk to him.

"Is she okay? What's going on?" I heard his worried voice ask a little closer to my bed now. Alice's hand was now rubbing soothing circles on my back. But, they didn't sooth me enough to stop my tears of regret and guilt.

"We told her about the whole Brandon situation and what happened when she was unconscious. She's just a little upset." I heard Eli explain.

"A little upset? Eli, she shouldn't even be upset at all right now. She should be resting!" Edward said angrily and I heard some shuffling and Alice's hand motions stopped.

"Bella, are you all right? Do you need anything?" Edward asked from my right side. I finally allowed my tears to suppress enough and looked up at him. He was sitting in the chair that Alice was in, looking at me with concern and what looked like fear. I looked around the room for Alice and Eli and noticed that they both left the room. _Traitors_, I felt like muttering.

"I'm ok, Edward. I don't need anything. I just really need to talk to Brandon. Is he here?" I asked. Edward's face faltered into a hurt expression for a second and then was quickly masked into no emotion. Uh – oh. He probably thinks that I'd rather see Brandon right now.

"Um, yeah. He's sitting in the waiting room with the others. Would you like me to go get him?" He asked quietly as he looked down. .

"Yes, please. I just really need to apologize to him." I said and looked down at my hands embarrassed. What does Edward think about me using one of his best friends? I looked up when I didn't hear him answer and was taken aback. He was already gone.

**AN: Well…I'm a little upset with this chapter. It didn't turn out the way I had pictured it would but I hope that you guys liked it. Please please please leave me some reviews! I'm starting to feel a little lost with this story and I just need to make sure that you guys like how it's going. If not, maybe I will try to rewrite it but if so let me know and I will leave it the way it is. But, I have some good ideas for future chapters so I can't wait to get there lol. It's just this part I'm a little iffy on. And, I tried my best with the doctor talk and all that so I hope it at least sounds right.**

**Anyways, next chapter Bella will be talking to the police and you will find out who her attacker is, like you don't already know ;) and what happened to him and the "lady". I'm pretty sure you already know who she is too lol. She will also be talking to Brandon but will he forgive her for using him? And will Edward and Bella finally be able to tell each other how they really feel? Dun Dun Dun! Till the next chapter my wonderful peeps! :)**

**Also, I will have the preface up for my next story. I know I said I would have Edwards story up before, but I just wanted to get the preface up on this one so you guys can let me know if it's worth continuing or not. But, hopefully I will have the first chapter of Edwards POV of this story and the title up by the end of this month.**

**So please, check out my other story and let me know what you think!**

**PS: HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE AND I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR! I WISH YOU ALL GOOD LUCK IN THE FUTURE TO COME! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: First off, thank you too those of you who have reviewed and gave me immense confidence on continuing on with this and for not having me change a thing. I am glad that you guys liked where it was going and it means a lot to me that a lot of you cared enough to tell me. So BIG thank you again! I love you all and I hope I don't disappoint any of you. *Gives big Emmett bear hugs to everyone who reviewed***

**Thanks so much again for the help!**

**Okay, here it is. Dun dun dun! The chapter most of you have been waiting for. I hope you all like it and I hope I did it justice. Please tell me what you think about it! Well, without further or do, lets get on with the chapter!**

Ch.9

"Bella?" I heard a familiar deep voice ask in the doorway of my hospital room. I looked up to see Brandon standing there looking at me warily.

"Hey Brandon. " I sniffed as I wiped away the rest of my tears. "Um, do you think we could talk?"

"Um – sure." He said as he walked in all the way and took a seat in a chair next to my bed. I looked into his beautiful hazel eyes and couldn't believe that I was so selfish to hurt such an amazing person.

"Brandon, I just want to start off by apologizing to you. What I did to you was stupid, egotistic and spiteful and I want you to know that I never meant for you to get hurt in all of this. I am so sorry." I said quietly and looked down at my hands as I felt a new wave of tears stinging my eyes.

"Bella, look at me." I looked back up into his beautiful hazel eyes and was bracing myself to see hurt in them but I was surprised when his heart-warming grin spread across his face. "Bella, it's okay. Alice and Eli told me everything. I understand why you did it and I was upset at first but I'm not anymore."

"But – but how could you not be? What I did was wrong. I should have never of done it in the first place." I said unbelieving that he could not be upset about it anymore. His face suddenly grew serious and her reached for my hand.

"I am not upset anymore because I had a long talk with Edward and he told me how much he cared about you and I believe him. I didn't need him to tell me because I saw it happen right before my eyes. He never left your side Bella. He was going insane when you wouldn't wake up. He told me how mad he was at himself for not being able to help you when you got attacked. He believes that if he did, then you wouldn't be in this hospital bed right now." He said as he stroke the palm of my hand.

"But –none of this was his fault. It was all mine. I should have never of gone out to the car in the first place. He needs to stop blaming himself." I said a little angry. Why couldn't he see that?

"Bella, _you_ also need to stop blaming _yourself_. What happened to you, was no ones fault but your attackers." He said. I sighed, he was right. But, I still couldn't help but feel guilty because of Edward who was now torturing himself with believing that it was his fault.

"Brandon, are you sure you're not upset?" I asked suspiciously.

He chuckled and his handsome grin re appeared, "Bella, I am not upset anymore. I know you don't like me as much as Edward, and it took me a while to accept that, but I am over it now. You and Edward are both incredible people who fit each other perfectly. And Edward has been waiting for someone like you to come into his life for a long time.

"When I got to know you better, I could see why Edward fell for someone like you. And, I could see a lot of him in you. That's how I knew you two needed to be together." He said and smiled at me sadly. God, why does he have to be so damn nice? I think I would actually feel better if he would yell at me and tell me what I did to him was appalling and I was a horrible person for doing it. But, no, he has to sit there smiling his heart warming smile at me and act like none of this ever happened. He must have seen the confused look on my face because he chuckled again.

"And don't go blaming your self and saying that all of this was your fault also. It was partially my fault as well as Eli's and Alice's. I'm sorry to say that I hurt Edward in the beginning of all of this because I knew he had feelings for you the moment you stepped foot into our school. But, when he got together with Tanya, I was just so upset that he would get with someone like her, when he could have had someone as wonderful like you. So, I took advantage of him being with her so I could maybe steel your attention. But, I should not have done any of that in the first place. If I would have remained friends with you and talked to Edward and get him to tell you how he really feels, then maybe none of this would have happened." He said ashamed. I patted the hand that was holding my other one.

"It's okay. Well, I guess we could say it was all of our faults and make it even then." I said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I guess so." He chuckled. "Well, now that all this is squared away, I think I need to go get Edward back in here. He told me that you wanted to see me and he didn't sound so happy about it." He let go of my hand and stood up.

"Okay, so…I'm forgiven then?" I asked hesitantly.

"Of course you are Bella. Haven't you been listening?"

"Yes, I did. I was just making sure you didn't change your mind. I really don't deserve your forgiveness. But Brandon, I just want you to know that the way I felt about you, I really did like you. You are a great guy Brandon and I am sure any girl would be lucky to have someone like you." I said. He flashed his perfectly white teeth as he smiled at me.

"Thank you Bella. I am sorry none of this worked out. But, I have a good feeling about you and Edward…friends right?" He asked me and held out his hand.

"Of course." I said as I shook his hand and we both laughed.

"All right, I better go get Edward before he kills me." He said.

"Okay…will I see you later?" I asked.

"Um, I will probably see you tomorrow after school. I have a report due tomorrow and I haven't even started it yet." He said ashamed.

"Brandon! Go home and do your repot, now!" I said. I tried to sound stern but I burst out laughing when he did.

"Yes, Mama Bella." He said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. We both laughed again. After we were done he sighed, "Well, I better get going Bella. I will see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye Brandon." I said and waved at him as he turned and walked out of the room.

I sighed. Well, that went better than I expected it to. I was glad that Brandon wasn't mad at me but it still does not excuse what I did. I really hope he does find someone that would suit him better than me. I know he could find someone. Maybe Alice, Eli, and I should do some match making? But, I could really see Brandon being a good friend to me and I can't wait to see how our friendship will progress.

I heard footsteps and I looked up to see Edward walking into my room. I was relieved when he smiled his crooked grin at me that I love so much. Maybe Brandon talked to him.

"Hey Bella. Brandon told me you were just apologizing to him." He said as he came and sat next to me. Yep, Brandon told him. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah, I just really needed to tell him that I was sorry and that I never meant to hurt him." I sighed.

"Oh, that's good. Are you guys going to go back to dating now?" He asked me hesitantly and his face looked anxious.

"What? Oh no. Brandon and I aren't going back to dating. In fact, we were never really dating in the first place. But, we are just friends." I said. I smiled when the anxiousness left his face and his crooked grin was back where it belonged. But, suddenly his face grew serious.

"Um- Bella?" He asked as he ran a hand through his tousled bronze hair.

"Yeah?" I asked nervously. What was going on? Why was he looking at me like that and why was he so nervous?

"I was wondering if I could tell you something. I want to make sure that you aren't going to get mad at me or anything and I want to know that no matter what, we could still be friends?" He asked me looking even more nervous.

"Uh – sure Edward. You can tell me anything." I said as I held my breath. He reached over and grabbed my hand in his. I immediately felt my heart rate racing as I stared into his stunning green eyes.

"Bella, I have been waiting a long time to say this to you." He took a deep breath and his soft velvety voice continued. "Before you came here, I felt like I was never going to find a girl worth meeting. I thought I was going to walk the rest of my days searching for someone that I could see myself with, a girl who I could enjoy spending time with. When you walked through the doors of Fork's High, I was stunned. The moment I laid my eyes on your beautiful face and looked into your mesmerizing brown eyes, I knew you were the girl that I have been waiting for. You are such an amazing girl Bella. I have never seen anyone so beautiful in my life. And, not only are _you _beautiful, but your soul is beautiful. You are the most caring, affection, self-sacrificing, loving, interesting and mysterious girl I have ever met. I love that you're like a puzzle to me." I was shocked. Was he joking? Did he really feel this way about me? I knew Eli and Alice said that he liked me, but to here the words come from him, I was stunned.

"Breathe Bella." He chuckled. I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding.

"Do you – do you really feel that way about me?" I asked quietly as I looked down and played with the IV tape on my hand. I could feel my face warming up and I could feel Edward's startling green eyes on me. I felt a finger slip under my chin and tug on it gently so I was looking up into his piercing gaze. His expression was serious as he gazed at me and I felt my heart beat quicken more.

"Isabella, how could I not feel that way about you?" He asked and took the hand that was holding my chin and began to stroke my cheek tenderly. I wasn't only shocked about the gesture, but also because he used my full name. "You really don't see your self clearly do you?"

"Well, it's not everyday I get the most popular guy in school to spill his guts out to me. I'm not exactly the popular guys type, I'm too plain." I said embarrassed.

"Bella, I don't care if you're popular or not. You are who _you _are and that's all that matters to me. And you are by far plain. You aren't like other girls and that's why I fell so easily for you. Everything about you is amazing." He said still stroking my cheek. "I love the way you blush when you're embarrassed or being shy. I love the dark honey color of your eyes and the dark brown of your hair. I love your mesmerizing smile and your beautiful laugh. I love the way you bite your lip or play with your hands when you are nervous. I love everything about you and I have never been able to say these things to a girl because I've never felt like this before with anyone but you."

I sat there in shock. Oh my, I can't believe this. Edward Cullen, the most beautiful boy to ever walk this planet, was telling me that I wasn't just a plain Jane to him and that I was the only girl he has ever met who has ever caught his attention? And did he really just tell me that he loved all those things about me that I hated? Whoa, it's a good thing I wasn't standing. I'm sure I would have collapsed. And I bite my lip when I'm nervous? Huh, I've never even noticed that I did that.

"Are you okay?" He asked chuckling. I looked back at him and just nodded my head. "Well…say something."

"So –so, you really love all those things about…about _me_?" I asked in disbelief. This caused him to chuckle again and hypnotize me with his dazzling smile.

"All that and more." He said and I blushed, once again. "I even love how you are the most clumsiest girl I have ever met."

"Well, what about…Tanya? She's way more beautiful then I could ever be. Why would you give her up to be with me?" I asked timidly. This is it, wait for it. This is the part where he laughs at you and tells you that he was just kidding. This is where you get your heartbroken like always and this is the part where he goes and runs off with the gorgeous girl that he already had. I tried to look away from his piercing gaze but he wouldn't let me. He cupped my face with both of his hands; keeping me there so he could look into my eyes. I searched his expression and noticed a mixture of guilt and sadness but his eyes smoldered with…love.

"Bella, Tanya meant nothing to me, absolutely nothing. She could never be more beautiful than you Bella. She is the vilest human being I could have ever met. She's nothing compared to you and I really don't know why I asked her out in the first place." He said as he stared into my eyes.

"Well, there had to be some reason why." I said confused. He sighed and closed his eyes. He opened them again about a second later and gave another sigh.

"Bella, you're right. There was a reason why I asked her out." He said, guilt still written over he flawless features.

"And what was that reason Edward?" I asked, still confused.

"I asked her out because of you." He said and sighed again before he continued. "I know it sounds dense and I knew it wouldn't work, but I need you to understand that I was getting desperate."

"Desperate? Desperate for what?" I asked, okay, this is getting too confusing here. Why can't he just tell me?

"I was desperate to have you see…_me_." He said he took his hands from off of my face. I wanted to protest, but I was too shocked. Edward looked like me. He was actually blushing and staring down at his hands timidly.

"Edward…" I said softly and waited for him to lift his head. When he didn't I placed a shaking hand onto his cheek. He looked up almost immediately. "Edward…what do you mean you were desperate to have me see you?"

"I just thought that you didn't like me. The very first day you started going to school, you practically ignored me in biology. I didn't know what I did to make you hate me, but I didn't think you hated me enough to actually try and change out of our class." He said sullenly.

"Edward, I've never hated you. The reason why I wanted to change out of our biology class was because of you, but it's not for the reason that you are thinking." I said. His expression seemed to lighten, but only a little bit.

"What was the reason then?" He asked looking at me expectantly. Oh, this is going to be embarrassing. I took a deep breath.

"Edward, I just – I was so confused with my feelings for you. I didn't hate you, there is no way I can hate you. When I saw you in the cafeteria for the first time, I thought – you promise not to laugh at me?" I asked looking at him, as his face grew more anxious. He nodded his head waiting for me to continue.

"Well, I thought you were one of the most beautiful boys I have ever seen – " I looked at him searching for any amusement and I waited for him to burst out laughing. But, instead he kept the same anxious expression and reached out and took my hand in his, silently urging me to continue.

" –And when I saw that you were popular, I tried to convince myself that someone like you, would never see me as beautiful enough or interesting enough to ever be with you…" He looked at me as if I had spiders crawling out of my ears and he opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. "…let me finish, please."

He closed his mouth and nodded so I continued, "I tried to distance myself and kept trying to convince myself that nothing would ever happen between you and I. That's why I tried to transfer out of your class. You were so much of a distraction to me and whenever I was around you, I couldn't think properly. It was as if you dazzled me by being in your very presence."

His mouth spread into that gorgeous crooked grin and he asked me playfully, "I dazzled you?"

"You still do." I said as a matter of fact and giggled at the goofy smile the he displayed. But my smile dropped when I remembered the day when he and Tanya became a couple.

"But, when you walked into the cafeteria holding hands with Tanya, I couldn't help but think that I was right. That you would never fall for some plain outcast like me when you had someone as beautiful and gorgeous as Tanya." I said somberly. I looked back down at my hands and felt Edward place his back on my cheeks. I looked up to see the goofy grin gone. Instead, his lips were now pulled into a frown that looked similar to the one that he shown when he over heard me talking to Mrs. Cope.

"Bella, I said this before, and I will say it again. She meant _nothing _to me. I was so stupid to think that I would actually gain your attention by getting with her. All's it did was cause you and Brandon to get closer and possibly end up together yourselves. And, not to mention major headaches from all of Tanya's whining." He said with a chuckle and I giggled. I don't know how anyone could stand her whining. Poor Edward had to endure it for weeks.

Edwards face suddenly went serious again and his eyes searched my face as if he was trying to find something. The intense look he gave me made me blush all over again.

"Bella, I can't even begin to explain how much you mean to me. I know I don't know a lot about you and you don't know a lot about me, but we have time to get to know each other better. I've waited a long time for you to show up in this boring town, and on Friday night I – I thought – I thought I was going to lose you." He said as he closed his eyes. When his eyes opened again, I gasped in shock to see his beautiful green orbs glistening with tears. His eyes held such intensity when they bored into mine; I could almost feel every emotion coming from them. "When I saw that guy holding you by force with a knife, all's I could think was I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him for what he was doing to you and I wanted to kill him for even having his hands on you. But I knew I couldn't get to him without either one of us getting hurt. But look what good it did. You got hurt anyway and it's all my fault."

I felt my own tears being to fill my eyes. "Edward, none of this was your fault. Please, stop berating yourself over this. Me being hurt was because of _me_. Like I told Alice, I was the one who went out to the car in the first place. If I had stayed with you guys in the restaurant, then none of this would have ever happened. But, I know I should not be blaming myself either since I didn't know that there was some maniac who was going to be out there waiting to attack me." I said. Edward still didn't look convinced with what I said.

"But, Bella. If I had –" He started to say before I cut him off.

"Please Edward, tell me that you are going to stop torturing yourself over this." I said pleadingly. He looked away from me towards the window and then turned back to me. His smile was back in place.

"Okay, fine. I will stop." He said with a heavy sigh.

"But, it still won't stop me from thinking about it when you aren't around." He joked.

I huffed. "Edward…"

"I'm kidding Bella." He chuckled and brushed my cheek with his hand again. I felt my cheeks warm under his touch and this seemed to make him smile. "God, I love it when you do that." This, of course only made me blush harder.

"I am so glad you are all right Bella. You don't know how crazy I went when Carlisle told me that there was a chance you could be in a coma. I prayed every night for you to wake up so I could look into your beautiful brown eyes again and see your stunning smile." He said as he began to trace my features softly with his index finger.

"Well, I'm glad I am a wake now too because I get to see you sitting here next to me." I said. Oh my, did I just blurt that out? He smiled and stood up from the chair. I began to panic, "Where are you going?"

"I'm not going anywhere." He said intensely as he placed both of his hands on either side of my face. He leaned down slowly and my breath caught in my throat. I felt my heartbeat quicken as his face got closer to mine and I could literally hear my heart monitor start to beep loudly out of control. Edward hearing it, backed away immediately when he was a few inches away from my face. Oh God, Why don't you just humiliate me to death now?

"Bella, what's wrong, are you okay? Do you need me to get a doctor?" He said starting to panic. I couldn't help it but I laughed at the panicked expression on his face and he looked down at me in alarm. "What? Why are you laughing? I think I should go find a doctor."

"Because Edward, there is nothing wrong. You clearly don't realize the effect you have on me." I said with a giggle. Edward's face looked confused but soon it was replaced with realization. He gave me one of his dazzling crooked grins that only made my heart flutter more.

He continued to lean down and we both tried to ignore the wild beeping of my heart monitor. His lips were mere centimeters from mine when my eyes fluttered closed. Oh my, he's going to kiss me? Edward Cullen is going to kiss…ME? Okay Bella, you can't die of a heart attack yet. At least wait until _after_ he kisses you first.

I didn't have to wait long. I felt his soft warm lips brush against my own lightly at first and I almost fainted when he let out a soft sigh. Not able to stand his lip teasing any longer, I reached my left hand to the back of his messy bronze hair and pulled him closer to me to apply more pressure. As soon as our lips became one, I felt a current rip through me in a lightening like speed. I felt like I was floating above earth with him and it was just the two of us. Kissing Edward was heaven, pure heaven.

"Well, It's about time!" A familiar squeal brought me crashing back down to earth. Edward and I groaned as he pulled away and we looked at the doorway to my room. There Alice stood with Eli at her side. Alice was bouncing up and down with her hands clasped in front of her. Her green eyes were sparkling and she had a wide smile spread across her pixie like face.

"Sorry guys, I tried to stop her." Eli said sheepishly from Alice's side. I wasn't surprised to see that knowing smile of hers as she looked at the both of us.

"Alice, what do you want?" Edward asked in an annoyed tone. He pulled away further from me and sat back down. I immediately felt a need to have him closer to me. He must have felt the same since he reached over and took my hand in his smiling.

"Oh, come on! You two would have probably been going at it like bunnies if I hadn't interrupted." Alice exaggerated as she and Eli made there way over to the left side of my bed.

"Alice!" I said embarrassed. I felt my cheeks burn at her comment. Everyone else just laughed, probably at my reaction.

"Well, are you two done with your make out session? Cause everyone else would like to come and see you now." Alice said teasingly.

"I guess I can share Bella, only for a little while though. She really should be getting some rest you guys." Edward warned from my side and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. I smiled at him and squeezed his back. He's right. I really am tired. Even though I shouldn't be. I slept for five days for crying out loud!

"Awww…"Alice cooed when she saw our little gesture.

I rolled my eyes, "Alice, send them in before I change my mind."

"Okay! I will be right back." She said and started to head out the door. She suddenly stopped and popped her head back in. "Eli, you coming?"

"No, I want to talk to the two love birds." Eli said and gestured her head towards Edward and I.

"Oh, okay. I will be right back." Alice said and then disappeared from the doorway. Once she was gone, Eli turned her head back toward us.

"Sorry guys. I would have given you more privacy, but you know Alice. She's just excited that you two are finally together." She said and then looked back and forth between us. "You two are together right?"

I looked at Eli and then at Edward perplexed. I honestly didn't know. Sure, we basically spilled our feelings out for each other and we kissed. Oh my, yes, we kissed. I kissed Edward Cullen! But, does that mean we are a couple now? Is there some sort of thing you have to do to make it official like ask if they wanted to be your boyfriend or girlfriend? Oh my, I've never done this before. I don't know!

Edward looked at me with his smoldering green eyes sparkling like emeralds and his crooked grin was in place as he squeezed my hand once again. "Well, I would like to think so. Wouldn't you Bella?"

"Um- yeah. I think we are." I breathed. So, I was now officially Edward Cullen's girlfriend? Holy Crow! Call the doctor; I think I'm going to have a heart attack!

"Yes! I knew you two were bound to end up together!" Eli exclaimed looking a lot like Alice as she bounced up and down.

"Oh really? And how did you know that Eli?" Edward said with a chuckle. He surprised me when I noticed he never once glanced over at her; he kept his eyes and dazzling smile on me.

"Oh come on Edward. I know these things. It was bound to happen sooner or later." Eli said as a matter of fact. "I could tell since the day you came over to my house telling me all about our silly Bells here. I knew you were in love with her then."

I looked at Edward astonished. What on earth…is it true? I knew Edward cared for me but, love me? Does he really love me? Already? Or was Eli just exaggerating?

He finally broke our gaze and turned and released a menacing glare at Eli. I turned slowly and looked at Eli. Her face went from cheerful to uneasy in a second.

"Uh- oh." She said in a small voice. "I'm taking it you haven't told her yet?"

Haven't told me yet? What? What hasn't he told me yet?

Edward sighed as he closed his eyes and pinched the brim of his nose. "No, Eli. I haven't"

"Oh crap. Not good. Um, okay, you know what? I think I'm going to – uh - go see what's taking everyone so long and – stall them, longer. Yeah, so um, see you two in a bit." Eli said uncomfortably. She gave me one last smile and bolted out the door.

I sat there and stared at the spot she just stood in confused. Am I missing something here? I turned back to Edward and noticed he was staring at me apprehensively. He cleared his throat and opened it to say something but no words came out.

"Edward, what is it? What does Eli mean? You can tell me." I said and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Bella…what Eli meant was, I –well –I know that it may seem unbelievable and you might not believe me. But, please do." He stopped and took a deep breath before he continued. He looked back intensely into my eyes and began, "Isabella Marie Swan, I'm in love with you."

What? Okay, yeah. He was right. I didn't believe him. I'm just starting to boggle my mind over him being my boyfriend now but…love? He –he loves me?

"Edward, wh- how? We aren't even dating yet. How could you be in love with me?" I asked tentatively. He enclosed my hand with both of his and leaned in closer so his forearms were resting on the edge of my bed.

"Bella, I know this sounds crazy and many people have said that it never happens in real life, only in fairy tails. But, Bella, the moment you walked into my life unrepentantly, well, I should say stumbled into my life…"He said with a chuckle and I giggled nervously as I remembered when I bumped into him in the cafeteria on my first day of school. "…I looked into your deep brown mesmerizing eyes and I was stunned. _You_ dazzled _me_ Bella. And the moment I heard your soft voice, I knew - I knew I was in trouble because I fell in love with a girl that I didn't even know."

"You – you've been in love with me since then?" I asked unbelieving.

"Yes, Bella. Please believe me." He said looking at me with such desperation. "And, it's okay of you don't feel the same way, especially right now. I know it's too soon and I was hoping to actually tell you in a different way and different time but Eli kind of ruined that."

"Oh my, well…I – I don't know how I feel right now. I'm just a little confused." I said looking at him. His face seemed to drop a little so I added, "But I like you Edward. I like you a lot well, more than a lot but I'm just not too sure if this is love that I'm feeling at the moment. I –I just need a little more time."

His face seemed to brighten at what I said. He reached up and held my face gently with his hands and said softly, "Bella, take all the time in the world if you need to. I understand and I would gladly wait forever for you. Especially now that you are in my life."

I felt a lump grow in my throat at the intensity of his words. I couldn't believe it. This angel just told me he was in love with me. _ME_. Little plain, geeky, Bella!

Edward leaned up and pressed his warm soft lips gently to my forehead. Even that kiss made my heart monitor beep like crazy. He seemed to enjoy that though because I felt his lips curve up into a smile. .

"AW! See! I told you they were cute together." Both Edward and I groaned again at the high pitch squeal that could have come from one person and one person only, Alice.

Edward pulled away from me and I was able to see Alice, Eli, Jasper, Emmett, and Rose standing by the door with huge smiles plastered on their faces. Alice, of course, was bouncing up and down as if someone just told her they were going to keep the mall open an extra hour just for her.

"Alice, that is the second time you've interrupted us. This better not end up being a new habit of yours." Edward said annoyed.

"Oh come on party pooper. You can't hog Bella all to yourself you know? Everyone else has been dying to see her too!" Alice said with a pout. I giggled. Alice, will be Alice.

"And who says I can't hog her all to myself?" Edward asked raising his eyebrow. He wrapped and arms around my shoulder possessively. I can seriously get use to this.

"Because Eddie. We all love Bella too!" I laughed as Emmett pouted along with Alice. He looked like a giant kid who was just scolded for trying to take a cookie out of the cookie jar. "Now, move over so I can give her a hug."

"NO!" Everyone yelled in unison as I clung onto Edward for dear life. I love Emmett, but I don't think his hugs are going to do me any good right now and obviously everyone else knew that too. He looked around at everyone bewildered.

"Jeez guys, I was just going to give her a get well hug." Emmett said, sounding hurt as he crossed his giant arms and looked down at his shoes. I instantly felt bad. See, he is just like a giant kid!

"Aw, Emmett. I promise once I am released from here, you may give me a hug." I said smiling. He looked up and smiled back at me.

"See, at least Bella Likes my hugs." He said proudly.

**AN: Tuh Dah! :D It is now official my peeps, Edward and Bella are finally together! Yay!!!! lol, I know – I know, it took me long enough. Well…. whactcha think? I hope you all liked it! Please please please REVIEW and let me know what you thought. I was extremely nervous about this one since it was the chapter where Edward and Bella finally tell each other how they felt. I wanted to make sure I captured their moment perfectly. I also tried to put as less pain as I possibly could on Brandon, but don't worry, good news will be coming his way soon :)**

**Next chapter will be the "police interrogation" lol and some other goodies :) Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and I hope you guys review! Please please pleaaasssseeee!! :D**

**PS. Thanks to those who checked out and reviewed my other story, _forever Immortal._ I loved everyone's reviews so far so I AM going to continue with the story. But, it is going to have to wait until after I am finished with Edward's POV on this one. Thanks again my peeps! *Gives big Emmett bear hugs to everyone who reviewed***

**Oh, and if you haven't checked it out yet, please do and let me know what you think about it. Thank you! **


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so Love to own Edward :)

**AN: YAY! another chapter is finished! First off, thank you again to my wonderful most helpful most astounding reviewers! I love your guys' reviews so please please please keep them coming! You guys are all awesome and I can't wait to see what you guys have to say about my story. Your reviews help me out A LOT and keep me writing so, THANK YOU! *Big Emmett Bear Hugs For EVERYONE!***

**Okay, on about this chapter. It will mostly be about what happened to Bella the that fateful night in the parking lot and the police have come to ask her some questions and do what it is the police do lol. So, here ya go, Chapter 10! Enjoy my peeps! :D**

Ch. 10

It is now my third and last day here in this hellhole. I can't believe that these places actually heal people. Can't they at least make it a little more cheerful and comfortable?

I sighed, at least I get to go home today. Charlie will be here any minute now along with a couple of the police officers from the Port Angeles Police station. Charlie convinced them to wait with the "interrogation" until I was going to be released. They already basically new the gist of things from Edward but they didn't know what went on before Edward arrived on the scene. Plus, no one has told me anything about what happened to the maniac that attacked me and his accomplice with the high heels. Everyone just kept telling me that right now was not the time and I should just be focusing on getting better but I was now anxious to find out what happened. Charlie probably would have told me once Renee left yesterday, but she gave him one of those 'if looks could kill', and I didn't blame him for not bringing up the subject again.

I sighed again as I remembered saying bye to my mom. We were both in tears and couldn't let go of one another. I'm going to miss her so much. I hate that she lives so far away but I promised I would visit her on Thanksgiving. She was ecstatic when I told her, which made me happy because I loved seeing her happy. When Edward went to school on Thursday, I told my mom about Edward and I being together. At first she got mad because she thought I did lie to her when she asked me if there was anything going on between us but I told her we didn't get together until after I woke up on Wednesday. When she believed me, she immediately went into girl talk mode and made me give her details of what happened. I was shocked when she told me that Edward was more than welcome to come with me on Thanksgiving but I haven't told him about it yet. Now, I just have to explain to Charlie about Edward and I but I am going to wait until I get home for that one.

Today was Saturday and I am so happy I finally get to go home. I can't believe it's been more than a week since I've been in here. All's I did was sit, rest, and read a couple of the books that Eli and Alice got me. But, when I got bored with that and resting, I at least had everyone to keep me company. Charlie was here during the early day and then left to go to work once Edward and everyone else arrived from school. Now that I was awake, I made Edward go home and sleep in his own bed instead of the uncomfortable wooden chair by my mine. He was always reluctant to leave my side and once he was by my side, he was always touching me in some way whether it was holding my hand or kissing my forehead every chance he got. I smiled at that. He only got to do that when Charlie wasn't around but I loved it even when he was just close to me. I felt more at ease and calm with him around me. Sometimes, the others would go off and wonder around to leave Edward and I in privacy. We would sit and talk about just about everything. We found out that we did have much in common, just like Brandon had said. It was strange too, because it felt like we've known each other for a while but we have just started to get to know each other better and I can't wait to actually spend some time with him outside of these white pasty walls.

I guess not much has happened at school since I've been gone. Alice would bring me some schoolwork but it wasn't much. I guess my teacher's took pity on me or something. Edward told me that no one knows about us yet; he wanted to wait until I was back in school. I couldn't wait to walk by Edwards's side through the halls of Forks High as his "girlfriend". The stares will probably make me feel uneasy, like the first day of school all over again, but at least I will have Edward at my side. Everyone warned me though to be prepared when I did go back. They said that everyone has been anxious to see me and wanted to know how I was doing. I couldn't believe all the get-well cards I have received since I've been in here. Most were from people I knew in some of my classes but a lot were from people I don't think I have even seen and if I did I couldn't place a name with them. I also received a few from my teachers and of course, Alice had one for everyday that I've been in here.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I was currently in the bathroom changing out of the god-awful hospital gown I was forced to wear and into one of the outfits Alice had bought for me. It was simple, thank god; just a pair of deep blue jeans and a white button up blouse. I grabbed a brush from my bag Charlie had brought me and brushed through the knotted waves. After nearly getting my brush stuck in my hair, I made sure the rest of the knots were gone and then moved on to brush my teeth. Once I was finished, I put everything back into my bag. I folded up the hospital gown neatly and left it on the sink. I picked up the bag and looked around the bathroom one last time to make sure I didn't forget anything. I saw nothing that I had left out so I opened the door, shut the light off, and then walked back into my hospital room setting my bag down by my bed.

Everyone was gathered around in my room. Edward was sitting on my bed talking with Brandon and Emmett who were seated beside it in chairs. Rose and Eli were sitting over by the window talking about something and Alice and Jasper were cuddled up together in a chair just sitting in silence. I noticed Charlie wasn't back yet. He was taking all of the get-well gifts home now so we actually had room to sit in the cruiser.

"Bel-la! See, you always doubt my fashion skills, but look at you!" Alice said as she got off of Jaspers lap and walked over to me to engulf me in a hug. When she pulled back she replied, "You look beautiful my dear."

"She always looks beautiful Alice." I heard Edward say from behind me and soon felt his warm arms snake around my waste. I was glad he wasn't facing me so he couldn't see the obvious blush that appeared on my face. Alice, of course noticed.

"Aw, well aren't you two just cute!" Alice squealed and did her little bouncing up and down act. "I am so glad that you two are finally together."

"As am I." Edward said from behind me and kissed my cheek.

"Oh my gawwwwwd." I laughed at the way Alice drawled out god and the look of sudden dawning on her face. "Just think Bella! If you two were to get married, you'd be my sister!"

"Now now Alice, you are getting way too ahead of yourself." I said and giggled at the look of excitement on her face.

"Oh come on Bella! Wouldn't it be awesome?" Alice squealed. Truth is, it would be awesome. But, I don't even want to think about marriage right now. It was WAY too soon.

"Alice, you are making Bella uncomfortable. Stop it." Edward said. He turned me around to face him and I smiled when I heard Alice huff and walk back over to Jasper.

"Are you finally ready to get out of here?" He asked me, keeping his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into him. I can't believe it's only been a few days and we have already grown this close.

"You have no idea." I said. Although, I wouldn't mind standing here with him forever. I loved being in his arms. They always made me feel so safe and wanted.

He chuckled, "Well, once Charlie gets back here, they will notify the police that you are ready. Then, you are free."

"Yeah, and speaking of Charlie, I don't think we should be caught in this little situation here. I want to tell Charlie about us when we are home and I don't think he will appreciate walking in here right now seeing his only daughter in the arms of some boy." I said teasingly and pulled away. Edward gave me one last squeeze before he let go of my waist.

"Yeah, you're right. But, I want to be there when you do tell him." He said seriously.

"Are you sure?" I asked carefully. "Because I can tell him by myself, I don't mind."

"Yes Bella, I'm sure. But when we do, just make sure he isn't anywhere near his gun." He said with a crooked grin.

"Oh, I don't think he needs a gun." I said and giggled at the shocked expression on his face.

I walked over and plopped down on my bed and Edward sat down at the end of it. I yawned and shut my eyes. I have only been out of bed for a few hours and already I feel like I've just trekked through a theme park all day.

"Tired Bella?" I heard Emmett ask. I opened my eyes and saw that both he and Brandon were looking at me with amused faces.

"Yeah." I giggled. "I can't wait to get home and sleep in my own bed."

"Well, it looks like that won't be long." Eli said from by the window. "Charlie's back and it looks like he brought a couple of police officers with him."

"That's good. The sooner they come, the sooner you get this all over with and you can go home." Edward said as he patted my hand.

Within a couple of minutes, Charlie and the two police officers came walking in the room. One was a tall, thin man with black hair that looked very thin on top. The other was a short plump woman with brown hair that was up in a bun under her hat. She was holding what looked like a manila folder.

"Hey Bells." Charlie said as he walked over to my bed.

"Hey dad." I said as I sat up in to a sitting position.

"Well, you ready?" He asked me.

"Yep, as ready as I'll ever be." I said.

"Okay, well, did you want us to stay or go?" He asked looking uncomfortable.

"Everyone can stay. Well, that is if they want to. I don't mind." I said and looked around at everyone. They all sat where they were and gave me a reassuring smile.

"We aren't going anywhere Bella." Edward said as he gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

"Okay, well hello Bella." The balding thin officer said as he and the women took out a pad and pen. "My name is Deputy Robert Wilson and this is my partner Officer Sheryl Neill. We are from the Port Angeles Police Department and would like to ask you a few questions about the night that you were attacked."

"Okay, what would you like to know?" I asked looking back and forth between the two.

"We have already heard that you went out to the parking lot at the Port Angeles Pier to retrieve your wallet from this young man's car." He said, motioning his pen at Edward. "Can you tell us what happened when you got to the car? Or did you even make it to the car before you were attacked?"

I took a deep breath and began, "Well, I made it to the car but I only got to reach for the handle. That's when someone came from behind me and put their hand around my mouth and griped my arms around my back. I screamed at first and tried to get away but the person only gripped me tighter. At first, I thought and hoped it was just Emmett or someone else I knew playing a tick on me. But when he spoke, I knew it was someone I did not know."

"Alright. And what did he say to you?" Deputy Wilson asked as he wrote something down.

"Um, I don't remember fully but it was something like 'If you make a sound, it will be the last one you make'." I said and shivered as I remembered his deadly words whispered into my ear.

"Okay." He said and started to write more stuff down on his pad.

"What happened after he said that to you?" Officer Neill asked me.

"Well, I stayed quiet and he started to lead me backwards, away from Edward's car. Then he asked me something like how we wouldn't want to cause any attention toward us. I didn't respond to him since he told me to not make a sound. This seemed to anger him because he took one of my arms that was behind my back, and twisted it until it broke." I said and looked down at my hands. I shivered again and could literally feel the pain and here the loud crack all over again.

I heard a couple of gasps come from around the room. I looked up and saw that Charlie, Edward, Brandon, Emmett, and even Jasper looked like they wanted to rip something apart. Alice was cuddled up into Jaspers side with a look of shock on her face and her already pale complexion seemed to some how pale even more, and both Eli and Rose looked like they were pained.

"Okay Bella. Is there anything else that happened before your friend Edward showed up?"

"Um, no. He came out after that happened." I said as I ran through the events in my head again.

"Did you get a look at who did this to you?" Officer Neil asked.

"No, he stayed behind me the whole time. But I remember him and Edward talking. He said something about the movie theater and I think it was a guy that was staring at me when we were there." I said.

"Was this the guy that you saw in the movie theater?" She asked as she grabbed a photo out of the manila folder and handed it to me.

I gasped. The man in the picture looked to be in his twenties and had long dirty blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. His eyes were a flaming blue that looked like they could penetrate through anything. I knew that look and I knew that face. It was him.

"Ye – yes. This is him." I said as I handed her back the photo with a shaky hand.

"Bella, there was another person with him. Do you recognize her?" Officer Neil handed me another photo out of the folder.

It was a picture of a woman who also looked like she was in her twenties. She had long, wavy, flaming red hair and her eyes were green but the lightest green I had ever seen. I looked closer at her and didn't think that I'd seen her anywhere before. Surely if I did, I think I would remember that hair.

"I'm sorry, I don't recognize her. But, she could have been sitting next to the guy in the theater but I honestly don't know." I said and handed her back the photo.

"That's okay. Edward recognized her from the theater and the parking lot. We just wanted to make sure you didn't know her personally." Deputy Wilson said.

"Well, that's all the questions we have for you. Now, I am sure you have some for us correct?" He asked me as he put his pad and pen away.

"Um yeah. Who are they?" I asked.

"The man's name is James William Madison and the woman's name is Victoria Ann Ronan. They are both twenty-four year olds, born and raised in Port Angeles. They were pretty much known for being criminals in our area, robberies mostly. But, we have not had a lot of evidence to convict them. Their last robbery though, they robbed a convenient store down on fourth street. They got away obviously but this time we found some fingerprints that belonged to them. We were going to be making an arrest on them soon but we needed to get a warrant. And while we were in process of getting the warrant, we got a call about a young woman being attacked in the Port Angeles Pier Parking lot, which evidently, led us to you. When we got there and saw the suspects, we immediately recognized them as James and Victoria." Deputy Wilson explained.

"Were you guys able to arrest them?" I asked. I looked around again and noticed that everyone was looking at me apprehensively. Okay, something's going on here and I want to know what it is.

"She has the right to know what happened to them and I think she should know." Officer Neil said looking at Deputy Wilson.

Deputy Wilson looked at Charlie and raised an eyebrow. Charlie shook his head at him and said no. I sighed. Why won't they tell me? This is so dam frustrating! Why are they treating me like a little kid? If I can handle being attacked by some maniac, what's the harm in a little information?

"Dad, I want to know what happened. I _need_ to know. Are they put away or what?" I asked looking at Charlie and then at Deputy Wilson. "If any of you don't tell me I will find out on my own anyways and you know I will."

Charlie sighed, "Fine. But Bella, just know that no matter what. You will be safe." Oh, well that makes me feel _so_ much better. That's basically telling me danger is on its way.

"Okay. Well, as soon as we pulled up on the scene, James threw you down to the ground and grabbed a gone from out of his back pocket. We didn't hesitate, as soon as we saw that he had a gun, we shot at him." Deputy Wilson said.

"So…he's…dead?" I asked slowly. Whoa. So, that must have been the thud I heard after the gunshots were fired.

"Yes, he is." Officer Neil said in a monotone.

"Oh…okay." I said. Then I remembered the car tires that peeled out of the parking lot with sirens following. "Um, what about the woman? Did she get shot too?"

"No, she did not. As soon as James went down, she took off in the van. Several officers followed her but she somehow managed to escape." Officer Neil said. "We put out an APB on the van so hopefully someone will spot it. But, as of right now we have no leads on where she is headed or even if she still has that van. For all we know, she could have dumped it off somewhere and picked up a different car."

Oh well, isn't that just handy dandy? A chick that was an accomplice to my almost kidnapping is on the loose and they have no idea where she is or even if she's going to be caught?

"Wh –what happens now then? Do you think she would come back? Do you know why they even tried to kidnap me in the first place?" I said starting to panic.

"Bella, it's okay." Edward said and squeezed my hand. His touch seemed to calm me, but only a bit.

"Well, as of right now we will be keeping up an alert on her. So, it would be hard for her to get anywhere near Port Angeles. And, you don't know this woman personally and never seen her, so we highly doubt that she even knows that you reside in Forks." Officer Neil said and walked closer to the bed. "You have nothing to worry about Bella. We will have our officers keeping an eye out around the borders of both Forks and Port Angeles. Plus, we will give you updates on everything we find. And as soon as we catch her, and we will catch her, we will tell you as soon as we do."

"Bella, we will never let anything happen to you." Edward said still holding my hand. Officer Neil had a point though. I have never seen this Victoria person before in my life and I highly doubt that she's seen be before. So, how does she know where I live?

"Okay, but…do you know why they were trying to kidnap me in the first place?" I asked feeling a little more calm.

"That's what we are still trying to figure out. We highly doubt they would just choose you randomly. Especially since they had seen you at the movie theater. But, we do not know what their motives where and the reasons why they wanted to kidnap you." Deputy Wilson said.

"We promise that we are going to do everything it takes to find this woman Bella." Officer Neil said determinedly.

"Thank you. I really hope you do." I said a little shakily. I knew I was a danger magnet and all, but never did I see a kidnapping. I always pictured myself falling down a flight of stairs, falling out of a window, slipping on ice, tripping over my own two feet, and getting hit by a car but with my luck it would be me running into a parked car. But, I have never in my life ever thought about the possibility of me being kidnapped. I thank god though that I never had to go through the rest of the "kidnap" experience and I hope I never will.

"We will Bella. And like I said, we will inform you with any information we have that leads to her and we will be doing everything we can to find her and arrest her." Deputy Wilson said firmly.

"And you don't have anything to worry about. You will be safe with all of the officers that will be patrolling all over and plus you have your friends and family around you." Officer Neil said as she motioned to everyone in the room. "But, if you feel like you're not safe, for any reason at all, you give me a call and we will come out to you and see what the problem is."

"Okay, thank you." I said and smiled at them.

"Alright Bella…" Deputy Wilson inclined his head at me and did the same to Charlie. "…Chief Swan, we should be heading out now. Bella, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call us. Also, even though we are going to have double the police officers in your city, you should take extra precaution when you go out. Especially at night, and if you feel like you're being followed or watched, let someone know, preferably your dad and the police."

"Okay, I will. And thank you guys again." I said.

"Alright Bella, you take care of yourself and we will be keeping in contact." He said as he turned to head out the door.

"Bye Bella. Remember, what I told you okay?" Officer Neil asked me.

"I will." I said and nodded my head. She smiled and waved to everyone else before following Deputy Wilson out of the door.

"I'm going to talk with them for a minute Bells. When I get back, we can tell the doctor that you are ready to leave." Charlie said. I nodded my head and watched him as he walked out of my room.

I hope they really do catch this person. What if she was really after me for a reason? And since she didn't get to do whatever it was she was going to do, then what if she comes back to finish it? I'm thankful the police got there in time. I forgot to ask them who called the police in the first place.

"Hey guys? Who ended up calling the police?" I asked and looked around at everyone.

"I did." Alice's said from her perch on Jaspers lap. Her face seemed to gain back the little color that she had in it. "When you were taking forever out there in the parking lot, Edward told us that he was going to go check on you so we went and sat at our table and waited for you guys. And when Edward didn't come back with you any time soon, I called his cell phone to see what was taking you guys so long but he didn't answer. So, Jasper and I decided to go see if you guys were all right and that's when we saw you being held by that guy with a knife and Edward was standing there talking to him. I got out my cell phone and hid behind a bench so he couldn't see me while Jasper ran back to the restaurant to tell everyone else what was going on. The police arrived about three minutes after I called."

"Oh. Well, thank you Alice." I said surprised. Alice got off her perch and walked over to the right side of my bed. She plopped down and scooped me into her tiny arms.

"Bella, I'm sure everyone else would have done the same thing if they were put in my situation. We all care about you and we are so glad that you are okay now." Alice said and pulled back from me. Her green eyes were glistening with tears, which made my throat tighten as I felt my own tears flood my eyes.

I looked around at everyone in the room and was stunned to see that they all pretty much had the same serious and sad expression as Alice's. I can't believe this. It's only been a month and I have already become this close with all these people in this room. They were all her for me? Every single person in this room, were the very people I thought I would never associate with because I thought I was too plain for them, I still do. But, somehow they all wanted to befriend _me_. Plain little geeky Bella!

And look at Edward. The very first time I laid my eyes on him, I never thought it was going to be possible that he would ever have feelings for me. He was the one guy that I thought I would never be able to see myself having a relationship with. I thought that we were two total opposites, but how wrong I was. I wasn't wrong with us being opposite in looks though. There is still no way I will believe that Edward thinks that I am as beautiful as he says I am. But, when it comes to our personality, interests, and opinions, well, we are almost the same. It's a little scary really how someone as perfect as Edward would share any similar interests as me.

And, I am still shocked at the fact that he has fallen in love with me so fast. I don't know if what I feel about him is love, I know it's something strong, but I can't identify it because I have never felt this way about a guy before. Sure, I have had crushes and liked guys, like how I liked Brandon, but Edward was different. It was as if something drew me to him the moment I looked into his piecing green eyes. They captivated me and I felt hypnotized by him as if he cast a spell on me, making me not wanting to be anywhere else but near him. I felt a connection that I've never felt with anyone else in my life and I feared if that connection was broken, I would crumble into tiny little pieces and fly away like dust in the wind.

Why did I feel so strongly about him? How has this one guy made me feel so many emotions at once, making me feel like I could burst? This was all very new and confusing to me, but was it love? Did I love Edward Cullen like he says he loves me?

"Bella, are you okay?" I heard my angels voice call out to me, bringing me back from my deep thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking." I said smiling at him hoping it would reassure him.

"You have nothing to worry about Bella. The police are doing everything they can to catch her and in the mean time, you are safe. I won't let anything happen to you." He said as he put his hand put his freehand on my cheek and leaned forward and kissed my forehead lightly. I was thankful I was no longer hooked up to the heart monitor so no one could hear my erratic heartbeats.

He pulled away from my forehead and kept his hand on my cheek while he stared into my eyes, his lips only inches from my own. I didn't tell him that that wasn't what I was thinking about at all. I just smiled at him again, too lost in the haze that his kisses seem to put me under. He kissed me lightly and I frowned when he pulled away completely and he chuckled at my expression.

"Alright Bells. Everything is set. I talked to Dr. Cullen and signed your release papers." Charlie said as he walked in the room. "You ready to go now?"

"Heck yeah I'm ready!" I said as I jumped off the bed. Everyone laughed at my anxiousness to get out of there, but could you blame me?

"Dr. Cullen also said that you have to come back here on Wednesday to get your stitches removed and he wants to do an x-ray of your arm to make sure it's healing right." Charlie said as he walked over to the side of my bed and grabbed the over night bag that had all my toiletries and extra clothes.

"Okay." I sighed. I knew I had to come back, but couldn't he let me relish in my freedom for at least five minutes? Way to ruin my high dad.

"Bella, Brandon and I are going to head home now. We will see you at school on Monday okay?" Eli said as she came over to me and gave hugged me gently.

"Okay, I will see you two later." I said as she pulled away. Brandon came over and took Eli's place.

"You take care Bella. And like Edward said, you have nothing to worry about okay?" He said as he pulled away. I just shook my head and smiled. He smiled back and both he and Eli waved at everyone else before heading out the door.

The rest of us walked out a few moments later after I made sure I had everything. I still couldn't believe that I was getting to go home already. I couldn't wait to snuggle up in my warm covers in my comfy bed. I feel a sweat pants and t-shirt day coming on tomorrow.

"Bells, I'm going to go put this in the car and let you say bye to your friends." Charlie said when we walked out of the double doors of the hospital entrance and into the cold cloudy weather. .

"Okay, I won't be too long." I said. Charlie said bye to everyone else and then headed towards his Police cruiser.

"You're all better right Bells?" Emmett asked when Charlie walked away.

"Well, I'm better than I was. Why do you ask?" I asked him raising my eyebrow in suspicion.

"Because. When you said you were all better, I get to do this…" I was suddenly being squeezed to death in a giant hug.

"Em –Emmett…" I tried to say.

"Emmett! Let her go!" Rose screeched from behind him. He let me go and I immediately took in a deep breath of much needed air. I heard a loud whack as Rose swatted the back of poor Emmett's head.

"Ow! What the heck was that for?" Emmett asked as he rubbed the back of his head that had recently been swatted at.

"Your such an idiot! You should have asked her if it was okay for you to hug her. She's still healing and she might be soar!" Rose yelled at him.

"Oh, sorry Bella. I hope I didn't hurt you." Emmett said sheepishly as he still rubbed the back of his head. Out of pain or embarrassment, I did not know.

"It's okay Emmett. It didn't hurt. It just squeezed the breath out of me like it normally does." I said jokingly. He smiled and look at Rose in defiance.

"See Rose bunny, I didn't hurt Bella." He said triumphantly and it made us all laugh. Well, except for Rose.

"Whatever. You still should have asked." She said and then turned to me and gave me a much more gentler hug. "I'm sorry Bella. I'm glad you are doing better and we will see you at school on Monday."

I was about to say something when Emmett cut me off. "Hey! How come you get to hug Bella without asking and I don't?"

"Because, unlike you Emmett, Rose doesn't squeeze poor Bella to death." Edward said with a chuckle.

"Oh ha-ha. Well, if I'm the only one who has to ask, I just think it's only fair that everyone else should too, no matter their _hug levels_." Emmett said with a pout.

"Emmett, don't start." Rose said with gritted teeth as she grabbed his elbow and started to lead him over towards his Jeep.

"But, Rose…" He started.

"Emmett! Car. Now!" She said as she still lead him over to the Jeep.

"Fine. Bye Bella!" He said and waved at me before he turned around and allowed himself to be lead to his jeep. I giggled when I realized it looked a lot like a mother dragging her child to the car after the kid threw a fit in the toy store so now he was being punished by going home.

"We better get going too Bella. I will call you later tomorrow to see how you are doing." Alice said. She went to hug me but we were both suddenly startled by a loud horn.

"Emmett!" Alice and I both shrieked.

"You better ask her first Alice, or Rose will throw a fit!" He yelled from the driver's side of the jeep.

Rose rolled her eyes, "Just drive Emmett!"

"Bye Emmett." I giggled and waved at him. He better get the out of here, Rose looked like she wanted to murder him.

"Bye Bella! See you Monday!" He yelled and drove off with a pissed off looking Rose.

"I am so not looking forward to hearing that argument when we get home." Alice said with a sigh. She turned to me and gave me a hug, this time without interruptions.

"Bye Alice. I will talk to you tomorrow." I said and looked at her sympathetically.

"Bye Bella." Jasper said and I was surprised when he walked over and gave me a hug.

"Bye Jasper." I said and smiled at him when he pulled away. He smiled back and took Alice's hand. They both waved a last goodbye before Jasper guided Alice towards Edwards Volvo.

"Well, I would like to give you a kiss bye, but I'm sure if Charlie saw, I'd be a dead man." Edward said with his crooked grin.

"Yep. But I will settle for a hug I guess." I said with a pretend pout. He chuckled and scooped me into his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed. I never wanted to pull away from him; I could literally stay in his arms forever.

"I am so glad you're okay Bella." His velvet voice whispered into my ear and sent shivers down my spine. Oh my, if he only knew what his voice could do to me.

"I'm glad that _you _are okay and nothing happened to you." I said quietly.

"Bella, I don't care what you say. But, that should have been me, not you." He said as he pulled away.

"Edward, lets just be glad that we are both okay right now." I said. He grabbed my hand and threaded our fingers together. Charlie was far enough in the parking lot; he probably couldn't see our entwined hands.

"Okay. I better let you go home. I bet your dying to get as far away from this place as you can." He said with a grin.

"Yeah, but I don't want to leave you." I said as I stared at our entwined hands.

"Neither do I. But, I think Charlie is starting to grow a little suspicious." He said and looked over to where Charlie was standing by the Police cruiser. When I looked over Charlie looked away as if he had been caught staring.

I giggled, "Yeah. I better get going. So, I will see you at school on Monday?"

"Of course. And I will talk to you tomorrow when Alice calls." He said.

"Okay. Well, I guess I better go." I said and looked at him one last time.

"Bye Bella." He said softly and smiled.

"Bye." I said smiling back in a daze. I probably looked like an idiot with the goofy smile that was plastered on my face.

I took one last look at Edward before I walked in the opposite direction he headed. I reached the cruiser and Charlie was still standing outside of it.

"Ready Bella?" He asked as he opened his door. I walked over to the passenger side and opened mine.

"Yep." I sighed. Charlie got in so I took that moment to look over at the only silver Volvo in the parking lot. Edward was standing outside his door as well looking in my direction. I blushed and waved at him like a little fan girl. He smiled and waved back. I sighed one more time before I got in the cruiser and closed my door.

We walked through the front door of the house about fifteen minutes later. I looked around and noticed that Charlie left all the "get-well" gifts and bags by the stairs. I gathered up the flowers that did not have vases and brought them in the kitchen where Charlie was sitting at the kitchen table looking through today's mail. He looked up when I walked in.

"Bells, you don't have to do that right now. You should be resting still." He said with a frown.

"I'm fine Dad. I just want to get these in some water and then I will head up stairs and take a bath." I said as I grabbed two large vases from under the sink and began to fill them with water.

"Okay. But if you want the rest of the stuff I your room then I will take them up to your room for you. I wasn't sure what you wanted to do with them so I left them down here." He said.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I want everything up in my room except for a couple of the flower vases. I want to leave those in the living room." I said. I grabbed the vases that were now filled with the right amount of water and then put the two assorted bouquets in them.

"I'm done here, I'm going to head up and take my bath now." I said. "What do you want to do for dinner?"

"Um, well, I know you're probably not in the mood for pizza, and I don't want you cooking so why don't I go run down to the dinner and pick us up something? Does soup sound good?" He asked. Thank the heavens. There was no way I was in the mood for pizza and I really didn't feel like cooking anything.

"Yeah, that sounds good." I said as I picked up the vases and headed out of the room.

Once I got up to my room, I sat the vases down on my desk by the window. I then dug through my closet for a pair of comfy sweats and found an old T-shirt to put on. I gathered up the clothes and my toiletries from my overnight bag that I brought home from the hospital, and then went into the bathroom. I turned the hot water tap on and plugged the bottom of the tub once it was the right temperature. When the tub was finally full I got in.

After my nearly hour bath, I finally got out and got dressed and then headed to my room. I noticed that all the bags, balloons, and the rest of the flowers were in there. I decided on leaving the unpacking of the bags and rearranging of the flowers and balloons for tomorrow.

Charlie came up not too long after and told me that he brought the soup home so I went downstairs and ate with him. Once we were done I cleaned the little dishes we had and looked at the clock. It was only seven thirty but for some reason it felt like midnight and I was dying to lay down in something other than a hospital bed. So, I bade Charlie a goodnight and headed back up to my room

I sighed in contentment once the lights were out and I was lying in my nice warm and comfy bed. There were no white pasty walls to stair at, no sound of the annoying heart monitor, no sound of the nurses walking in and out of the room, no lump hard bed, and no weird sanitized smell.

All's I heard was the pitter-patter of the rain drops on the roof and my bedroom window. And my room was filled with the scent of wild flowers from all of the bouquets scattered about my room. It was actually quiet relaxing and I soon felt my eyelids become heavier and heavier before the darkness consumed me.

**AN: I am sorry to say my peeps, but this is the last chapter I am going to be doing for this story…SIKE! JK :D Thought I'd lighten up the mood with a joke. I know, I know, ha ha very funny*said sarcastically* But, never fear! Chapter 11 will soon be here! XD, sorry, I'm in a hyper mood.**

**Anyways, well…what did you think? I know I know, not enough Edward and Bella time but don't worry, that's what my future chapters are for my dears. I had to make this the police "business" chapter and her leaving the hospital so now she is FREE! Yay Bella! Okay, I am going to stop that before I scare all my wonderful reviewers away. So, reviewers, what did you think? Please Please, let me know! If you have any comments, questions, concerns, or just want to stop by and say hello, then please review! Thank you thank you. I will have chapter 11 up hopefully soon!**

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	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: Well, here it is my dear peeps, another chapter finished. Well, I hope you like this one and I apologize for the last one. I know a lot of you were disappointed and thought it was boring but I had to add the police in there somewhere. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter better. Well, I won't keep you from in any longer, so here ya go:**

Ch. 11

It's been about two weeks since I've been out of the hospital. I spent that Sunday after rearranging all the flowers and balloons in my room. I also had to make room for all the new clothes that Alice had got me and I knew if I didn't put them away, Alice would have come over and noticed that none of them were in my closet. She would have emptied all my old clothes out herself and then put the new ones in to replace them. Then, ounce she'd notice that it wasn't full, she would have went out to by some more.

Edward surprised me that afternoon. I was just expecting to talk to him on the phone when Alice said she was going to call, but he ended up showing up on my doorstep. Since Charlie was down in La Push telling everyone at the reservation the news of me being out of the hospital and all, Edward and I got to spend most of our time together in my room. He helped me put all my get-well cards away in an old photo album that I had. Renee said she would send me a new one so I could put them in there, along with other memorabilia that I make here in Forks. I haven't taken any pictures yet since I don't have a camera, but once I get the time and money, I would like to get one so I could take pictures of everyone. Especially, pictures of Edward.

After we were finished with the album, we decided to go downstairs and watch some TV just in case Charlie came home. But, he ended up leaving long before Charlie came back.

That Monday really did feel like the first day of school all over again. Alice and Edward swung by to pick me up in the morning. Apparently Charlie thinks that I can't drive with a broken right arm because he asked Alice while I was still in the hospital, if she would give me a ride to school until I got my cast off. Of course, neither Alice nor Edward minded. I was glad that I had Edward by my side though. We didn't let anyone know we were together yet since news around here travels, Charlie would have bound to hear it before Edward and I got the chance to tell him. But, Edward still stayed by my side. As soon as I walked on campus, eyes were immediately on me. I never in my life wished I had the power to become invisible than I did then. The stares lasted all day but that wasn't the only thing that happened. I even had people I didn't know come up to me and ask how I was doing and say they were glad that I was out of the hospital and okay.

After the shock of the first day wore off, the past couple of weeks have been better. I haven't had as many stares and people I didn't know come up to me. But, most who did come up to me, would talk to me from time to time in either the halls or in the classes we had together. I didn't mind the small talk, but I still couldn't help but feel awkward around them.

Right now, I am getting ready to head down to La Push with Charlie. It's Saturday morning and I had promised him and Billy that I would go on one of their fishing trips with them if Jacob were going to go too. And, since he was, I decided I might as well get it over with. I was excited to see Jacob again though. I haven't seen him since the night I was attacked.

I grabbed my jacket after I tied my boots. I was just wearing a pare of jeans and a T-shirt. I'm sure if Alice saw what I was wearing, she would have made me change again, even if it is just to go fishing in.

I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen where Charlie was getting a cooler ready. I sat my jacket down on a chair and walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed the bag of sandwiches that I made up last night.

"Here you go dad." I said as I handed him the bag.

"Oh, thanks Bells." He said as he grabbed the bag and stuck it in the cooler. "I'm just packing a couple of bottled waters and sodas. Did you need anything else in here?"

"Mmm…nope. I think that's good." I said as I sat down in a chair and waited. "Did you want to take my truck or are we taking the cruiser?"

"I think it would be easier to take your truck. We can fit everything better in the back." He said as he closed the lid of the cooler. Yes! No cruisin' in the cruiser today!

"Alright. Are we ready to go?" I asked.

"Yep." He said as he grabbed the cooler and walked over to the table to put his hat on. "I already put the poles in the back so we are all set."

I got up from my chair and slipped my jacket on. Charlie walked out of the kitchen and I grabbed my keys from the rack and followed him out of the front door.

"You should probably drive dad since I don't quiet know where they live." I said and tossed him the keys after he sat the cooler in the back with the fishing poles.

"Okay. We are going to meet Billy and Jacob at the house on the reservation and then ride with them to our spot." He said as he unlocked the door and got in. After he unlocked mine, I climbed in and buckled up.

The fifteen-minute ride to the reservation was spent in silence. I mostly just sat back and watched all the houses and trees pass by in a slow blur. Soon, Charlie pulled off the highway and down a dirt road. I saw little houses scattered about on either side of it. There were some people out and about. Some kids were playing in front of their houses or riding bikes down the narrow road.

After about the eleventh house we passed, Charlie pulled up in front of a little reddish brown one. When Charlie cut the engine, I unbuckled and got out. I saw a little ramp that led up to the front door. There was also a small, white garage off to the right side of the house, which had a bunch of car parts and other mechanical looking parts lying around in front of it. There were also a few older looking cars that were parked in the dirt driveway. There was only a newer looking blue truck, which I assumed was going to be the one we were going to be riding in.

"Be-la!" I heard coming from the direction of the garage. Jacob was walking out of it, grinning from ear to ear while wiping his hands on a towel.

"Hey Jake!" I said and gave him a hug when he reached me. "How are you?"

"I'm doing great!" He said smiling at me when we pulled away. "How are you doing now that you're out of the hospital?"

"I'm doing a lot better. I got my stitches removed last week and I can't wait to get this cast off. It's starting to get really itchy." I said as I held up my right arm. He couldn't see the cast since I had my jacket on but I was thankful for that. Eli, Brandon, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Edward all decided it was too white and needed to be decorated.

"That's good. Where were your stitches?" He asked.

I pointed to the spot where they had been on the right side of my forehead. He looked at it and then squinted. "You had stitches there? You can't even see a scar!"

"I know." I giggled. "Dr. Carlisle does his job well."

"Hey Kids, you ready?" Billy said as Charlie helped him down the ramp.

"Yeah, let me just go in and grab a jacket." Jacob said. He turned to me, "You wanna see the home? Well, you've seen it before, you probably don't remember it though."

"Sure." I said and followed him into the house.

"I'll be right back. You can have a seat on the couch if you want. I'm just gonna go wash my hands really quick and grab my jacket from my room." He said.

"I'll just wait here." I said. He gave me a smile and then disappeared down the hallway. I stood in my spot, looking around the house. It seemed like it was even smaller inside than it looked on the outside. The kitchen and living room were joined together. There was a large green sofa with a little coffee table in front of it. The TV was hooked up on the wall and there was a green cushy chair in the corner of the room with a stand up lamp by its side. The kitchen had a small refrigerator next to a little black and white stove. There was a little wooden table that looked like it fit only about three.

"It's not much, but it's home." Jacob said as he walked back into the living room pulling on a jacket.

"It seems cozy." I said.

He chuckled, "You ready to catch some fish?"

"I guess so. I haven't been fishing since the last time I was here when I was little." I said and began to walk out the front door.

I waited for Jacob to close and lock the front door and then headed down the ramp to the blue pick up truck that Charlie was helping Billy into.

"Did you get all the stuff out of the back?" I asked Charlie.

"Yep. I put it all in the back while you were in the house." He said as he began to fold up Billy's wheelchair.

Jacob walked over and grabbed the folded wheelchair from Charlie and stuck it in the back with the fishing supplies.

"Thanks Jacob. Well, lets get going kids. I want to make it down there before it starts to rain." Charlie said and walked over to the drivers' side. Jacob and I climbed into the back seat and buckled up.

"So Bella, how are you doing?" Billy asked from the front passenger seat as Charlie pulled onto the highway.

"I'm doing better." I said and began to fidget with my seatbelt.

"That's good. I'm glad that they got the guy but I heard that the woman got away?" He asked.

"Yep. She did." I said and looked out the window. Why was he asking me this? I know for a fact that Charlie told him everything there was to know.

"Well, hopefully they will find her soon. If not, I'll send all the Quileute boys to find her. The 'Indian ways' never fail." He said with a chuckle.

"So, Bella. What have you been up to since you've been out?" Jacob asked, changing the subject. I gave him a thankful smile, which earned me a grin in return.

"Oh, just the same things I've normally been doing. Go to school, hang out with some friends, and cook for Charlie." I said.

"It's a good thing you are here Bella. Poor Charlie would be trying to survive off of fried eggs and Spam." Billy chuckled from the front.

"Yeah, my Bells is an awesome cook. I missed it when she was in the hospital. It was either pizza or hospital food for me." Charlie said with a heavy sigh.

"Well, lets just hope Bella can keep herself out of trouble. What's this, your third hospital visit since you've been here?" Jacob joked. Both Billy and Charlie laughed and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"No…it's my second." I said looking out the window.

The rest of the ride was mostly spent with Billy and Charlie talking about some things that have been going on at the reservation. I guess they have been getting quiet a view break ins. The funny thing about it though is that everyone who had a break in said that only a few clothes were missing and some things were out of place. I guess Embry's family had a lot of antique Indian jewelry that would be worth a lot of money today, but the burglar was either stupid or didn't know that they were because none of it had been touched.

"Here we are." Charlie said as we pulled up a little road. There was a giant wooden sign that said, "_Welcome to Lake Crescent_". That's funny, I think I remember that sign.

Charlie then turned down another little road with a sign that read "_Docks 1 – 8_" and continued to drive down it for what seemed like only a minute. There was a yellow sign that read, "_Dock five" _on the right side of the road and Charlie pulled the truck over next to it. Jeez, this place sure had enough signs.

We all opened our doors to get out. Jacob walked over to the back to brag Billy's wheel chair and I helped Charlie grab a couple of the poles and a tackle box. When Billy was set in his wheel chair. Jacob came over and gabbed the rest and then we followed Billy down a path. Once we were out of the clearing of the trees, I noticed that the path lead to a fishing dock that was about twenty five feet out from the shore line of the water. The dock and the ramp made it look like a giant 'T' in the water.

Billy rolled up to the dock ramp and led the way to the end of the dock. As I was walking I looked down over the edge of the railing and looked at the crisp clear water. I could see the rocky bottom and I watched as it became deeper and deeper until I couldn't see it anymore. We reached the end of the dock and Billy parked his wheel chair. We set everything down and I noticed there weren't any other people here.

"Well, why don't we get started? Bells, you can use the dark green poll that we bought. It should be a lot easier to use casting wise." Charlie said as he reached for it and handed it to me.

"What are we using for bait this time?" Jacob asked as he grabbed a red pole that he had brought.

"Well, I thought maybe we could use the nightcrawlers since we seemed to get a lot of bites with them last time. I also packed a small bag of anchovies in the cooler with the ice." Charlie said as he dug through his tackle box.

"We should use them first then. We don't want them to get too thawed out." Billy said as he too was looking in his tackle box. I just stood there, looking like a fool not knowing what to do. Sure, I use to do this when I was little. But Charlie normally had my poll ready to be cast out into the water.

"Here Bells. You can use this hook." Charlie said as he handed me a small hook. "Just tie it at the end of your fishing line, bellow the weight. Once you do that, I will set you up with some bait."

"Um –okay." I said. I walked over to one of the benches and at down. I carefully tried to tie the end of the fishing line to the small hook, but still somehow managed to poke my finger with it.

"Ouch!" Charlie, Jacob, and Billy seemed to find my pain amusing, because they began to laugh.

"You need any help Bella?" Jacob asked with a chuckle.

I scowled at him, "No. I got it."

I looked at my finger and was thankful that I hadn't drawn any blood. So, I continued on trying to tie the fishing line to the hook. Once I made a small not and checked that to make sure the hook wasn't going to fall off, I got off the bench and went back over to Charlie who already had what looked like a small half of a frozen anchovy pierced on the end of his hook.

"I'm finished." I said. I heard Jacob mutter a "finally". I turned and glared at him but he was of course, unaffected by it. He just stood there and smiled as he cast his already hooked and baited line out into the water. This was a time I wished I had Alice's death glare.

"Okay, here. This is the other half of my anchovy. Just take it and pierce it onto your hook." Charlie said as he handed me the other half of his tiny frozen fish. I took it hesitantly and began to attempt to pierce it on my hook.

When I got it on there I looked up and noticed that Jacob, Charlie, and Billy were all looking at me with amused faces.

"What?" I asked warily. Why were they looking at me like that?

"You didn't look like you enjoyed that all to much." Billy said with a chuckle.

"I'm surprised she even did it at all." Jacob said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, getting a little irritated. Maybe coming out here with them was a bad idea.

"You're face. You looked like you wanted to puke." Jacob said with a laugh as he cast his line back out.

I blushed, as usual. Did I really make a face? Huh, I didn't even notice. I don't know why I did. It wasn't like I've never touched dead fish before for crying out loud. But, I have to admit, this was the first time I actually had to take one and pierce it on a hook and it wasn't a pleasant experience.

"Alright Bella. Do you remember how to cast out?" Charlie asked.

"Uh, I think so." I said looking at the pole. Charlie must have seen my hesitant look. He chuckled and sat his pole in one of the holders on the railing.

"Here…" Charlie said as he reached for my pole. I handed it to him followed him to a spot on the other side of Jacob.

"First, you hold back this black button and keep holding it." He said as he pointed to it. "Then, you take your pole, and swing it around your shoulder. Then, you swing it away from you, towards the water and while you do, release the back button. Here, try it."

He handed my pole back to me and stood a little bit away from me so I didn't get him with my hook. I took a deep breath while I held the little black button down and swung the pole around my shoulder. Then, I cast it out like Charlie said and released the button as I did. I watched as the line went zooming quite a few ways from the dock and then 'plunked' into the water.

"Wow Bella, that was a good cast." Jacob said.

"Yep, it looks like you won't need anymore help for now. You know what to do if you get a bite don't you?" Charlie asked.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Yes, dad. I real this little lever hear and if he hooks on, then I reel it in."

"Right." Charlie chuckled and then went back to his pole.

"So, how are you liking it?" Jacob asked me with a grin as he sat his pole in a holder.

"So far it seems fun. I remember a lot of it; I just never baited my own hook before. Plus, this sport doesn't have me doing anything embarrassing like hitting people in the head with a ball." I said

Jacob chuckled, "Yeah, but there still is that chance that you could fall in the water."

"Hey, don't even press my bad luck. The day isn't over yet, so there still is that chance that I could somehow slip or trip over something and end up head over railing into the water." I said and laughed as I pictured myself going over the railing, into the chilly water.

"I better keep you from the railings then." He chuckled as he sat down on a bench. I put my pole into the holder in front of me, and then joined him. We both just sat in a comfortable silence. It was a cloudy day today and the water held a misty fog above the surface further out from the shore and dock. I couldn't even see the other end of the lake because of it. Jacob and I laughed as we watched several ducks floating about the surface of the water. They would duck their heads occasionally in the water and pop back up to clean their feathers.

I leaned my head back against the railing as I listened to the nature surrounding me. This was a way different sound of nature that I was use to hearing in Phoenix. In Phoenix, I heard the wild wind howling, the earthy dessert thunder and lightning storms (with no rain), the sounds of coyotes howling at night, the sound of gravel when you walked, and the sound of other desert animals. Here, it was almost peaceful. Here, I heard the water beating against the dock and the sound of the small waves rippling through the water. I heard birds chirping and ducks quaking, I heard several motors from boats in the distance, and I heard…Jacob…yelling. Why was he yelling?

I opened my eyes and didn't even realize that I had closed them in the first place and I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear Jacob the first time.

"Bella, you've got a bite!" He said excitedly when he noticed I had my eyes open. I looked at my pole and saw the end of it bending downward. I shot up from my seat and grabbed the pole out of the holder and began to wind the realer. I felt a small tug and then reeled my line in more. Soon, I felt it tug again, this time it was harder though and I somehow new that the fish was caught on the hook. Remembering what Charlie taught me when I was little; I tugged on the pole and began to wind the reel more furiously.

"Go Bella! You got it!" Jacob said animatedly from my side. "He Guys! Bella's got one!"

I heard Charlie and Billy make their way over towards us as I still battled on with the fish. Gosh, there must be a shark on the other end of this thing!

As if reading my thoughts, I heard Billy say, "That sucker must be huge."

My arm was beginning to get tired but I kept on reeling. Finally, I began I saw a huge fish jump up in the water about three feet from the dock.

"Whoa! Did you see the size of that thing?" Jacob asked as he pointed at it. "I'll go grab the net!"

Jacob reappeared by my side in a split second and squatted down with the net and placed it in the water. "Okay Bella, just reel it in towards me and I will scoop it up out of the water."

I did as he said, and soon, I was able to rest my arm as Jacob took the net and scooped the fish up and out of the water.

"Wow, great catch Bells!" Charlie said as he grabbed the fish and untangled it from the net. I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, the first catch of the day too." Jacob said and patted me on my back.

"Well, it looks like you caught yourself a nine pound Bass." Billy said as he held it. How on earth did he know it weighed that much?

Jacob chuckled and whispered in my ear, "He's like our own personal scale. He can tell you how much a fish weighs just by holding it."

"How on earth is he able to do that?" I asked skeptically.

"I have no idea. It's just something he's been able to do since god knows when." He said. I just shrugged and chuckled.

"I will put this in the cooler for you Bells. To bad we didn't have a camera to get a picture of you with it." Charlie said with a frown.

"We can use my phone. It has a camera on it." I said as I reached in my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. I handed it to Jacob and Charlie handed me the fish.

They chuckled and laughed at me when I almost dropped it because of how heavy it was. I ended up having to hold it up with both hands and I smiled at Jacob as he took my picture.

"Hey Charlie, why don't you get in one." Jacob said.

"Alright." Charlie came over and stood by my side and put his arm around my shoulder. We both smiled and I heard the shutter sound as Jacob took another picture.

"You might wanna rinse off your hands before I hand this back to you." Jacob said with a chuckle.

"Good Idea." I said as I squatted down and leaned over to rinse them off in the water. Hey, it's not like they have a sink with soap. You have to use what you got out here, and I didn't really mind it all too much.

"Don't fall in." Jacob said with a smirk from above me. I looked up and he chuckled when I stuck my tongue out at him. I then turned back around and went back to rinsing off my hands in the cold water.

Ounce the scales were off of my hands, Jacob handed me back my phone after I dried them off.

We spent the next hour sitting and talking while we fished some more. Both Jacob and I caught another fish. This time, for the sake of my tired arms, it was a smaller sized fish. Jacob caught about an eight pounder and I teased him saying that mine was bigger than his. He bet me that he would catch a bigger one than mine before the end of the day.

"You guys getting hungry?" Charlie called to us. My stomach answered before I could when it grumbled loudly.

Jacob chuckled and looked over at Charlie, "Yeah, we're hungry."

We both got up and walked over to where Charlie and Billy were. I walked over to the cooler and pulled out the sandwich bag.

"Well, I didn't know what you all wanted so I just made up a bunch or turkey sandwiches." I said as I began to pass them out.

"That's fine Bella." Billy said as I handed him his. "We normally just eat chips so this is a feast compared to what we normally have."

"Really? Dad, why didn't you say something? I would have made you guys up some." I said frowning.

"I didn't want to bother you with it Bells. We are fine out here with chips, but thank you again for making our lunches today." He said as he handed Jacob and me a soda. I sat down on the floor of the dock with Jacob while Charlie sat on the bench. Jacob and I ate in silence while Charlie and Billy talked about, you guessed it…sports. Jacob and I shared a knowing look and continued on with our lunch.

When we were finished, I took my phone out to look at the time when I noticed I had a missed text message. It was from Edward, so I opened it up and it read:

_Hey Bella. I'm just making sure everything is going all right. I'm guessing you keep your phone in your pocket so if you haven't fallen in the water yet, then you're probably reading this. I miss you and I hope your having fun spending time with your dad. I will call you later tonight to see how everything went. And plus, I just want to talk to you ____. Well, I guess I will talk to you later. Have fun and be safe. - Edward_

Aw, he's worried about me? I chuckled and replied:

_Hey Edward. No, I have not fallen in the water (yet). But, I miss you too and I can't wait to talk to you tonight and tell you all about my HUGE fish that I caught. Well, I better get going. It looks like it's starting to sprinkle so I'm guessing we won't be here that much longer. I will talk to you later. – Bella_

I sighed and put my phone back in my pocket. I really did miss him. I wish he could have come with us but I know it would be hard for us to try and hide us being together in front of Charlie. We had enough trouble doing it as it was at school, but at least there you had a lot more distractions. Maybe we should get this whole telling Charlie thing over with tomorrow. I will tell Edward tonight and see what he thinks.

I went back over to my pole and brought it over to the tackle cooler. We were out of anchovies so now we were using the nightcrawler's. I almost did puke the first time I baited one of them, but I was starting to get use to it.

Ounce the wiggling worm was on the hook securely, I went back over to my spot next to Jacob, and cast my line out into the water. I looked around and saw the small ringlets that the sprinkling rain was causing on the surface of the water. The dock had an awning so it shielded us from the drops of water.

We all sat back and continued to fish. Edward and I texted back and forth until an hour later the rain started to pour down even harder. Charlie asked if we all wanted to head out since the rain was starting to hit us as it blew sideways. We all agreed and pulled reeled our lines in. I text Edward and told him that I was heading home and then helped pack up some of the things. After we packed up everything, I put my hood on as we walked back down the dock ramp and towards the path that led back to the truck.

Ounce everything was secure in place and Billy's wheelchair was covered with a tarp, we got in the truck and headed back to La Push. The ride back was silent between Jacob and I as it had been on the way there, but this time I noticed he looked a little upset. I didn't bother him, just in case he was just thinking and we soon reached the familiar dirt road that lead to the Black residence.

"Hey, you and Jacob wanna come over tonight and have the fish that the kids caught?" Charlie asked as he pulled into the dirt driveway.

"Sure, that sounds fine with me. What do you think Jacob?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, that sounds cool." He said quietly. I looked at him. What on earth is wrong with him? Did I do something to cause him to be so upset.

"Alright. What time do you want us over?" Billy asked as he ignored Jacob's mope. I just continued to look at Jacob as he stared out his side of the window.

"Um, about six or six thirty should be fine." Charlie said. We all unbuckled and got out. The rain was only a slight drizzle over here so it made it easier to unload. Jacob still wasn't talking or saying anything as we unloaded our stuff from his truck and put it in the back of mine.

When Charlie helped Billy into the house, I turned to Jacob who was starting to walk in the direction of the garage. I grabbed his arm to stop him and he turned around.

"What's wrong Jacob?" I asked concerned.

"Nothing. I will see you at your house tonight." He said non-chalantly. And with that, he turned back around and stalked off back in the direction he was going. I just stood there in the rain and watched after him confused.

"Bella, you ready?" Charlie asked as he walked over to my truck.

I nodded and went over to my truck. Charlie unlocked my door and I got in. He started the engine and we headed home headed home.

Ounce we got home and put everything away, Charlie began to clean the fish and get it ready for me to cook. While he was doing that, I went upstairs and took a warm shower and change into drier clothes.

I came back down and went into the kitchen about and hour later, It was five thirty so the Blacks will be here in about a half an hour. Charlie had the fish all cut and ready to be cooked, including my 'Big Kahuna' as Billy put it, so I dug through the fridge to figure out what else I could cook with them. I decided on cooking up some carrots and broccoli.

While I was chopping the vegetables to put in a bowl, I couldn't help but let my mind wonder. Did I do something wrong? Why was Jacob acting all gloomy? I don't think I did any thing wrong. We were sitting there chatting like we did before and I don't think I said anything to him to make him act this way. Oh, was he mad about the whole 'me catching a bigger fish than him'? Such a boy, to be mad over something as stupid as a girl getting something bigger than him. But, if it is just that, then I would be relieved. At least I would know I didn't do anything like say the wrong thing or anything like that. But, if it is over the whole fish thing, then he could just…

"Ouch!" Damn it. I really need to start paying attention while I'm using a knife.

"Bells, you all right?" Charlie asked from the doorway of the kitchen. I took the chance and looked at my finger. It was sliced pretty good and blood was starting to ooze out of it. Oh great…not good.

"Um…I sliced my finger." I said as I rushed over to the sink so I didn't get blood all over the vegetables. I turned the faucet on and let the cool water wash the blood away. I was glad I had it under the water so I couldn't see the blood or smell it.

"Let me see it." Charlie said as he came over to the sink.

"Dad, if I take it out of the water, _I_ will see it and _I _don't want to." I said grimacing.

Charlie chuckled, "I have to so I can make sure it doesn't need any stitches."

I groaned, "Fine, but do it quickly please."

I held my finger out of the water and turned my head. Charlie grabbed my hand and placed a paper towel over it to dry it off.

"Well, it looks like you won't be needing another hospital visit. I will go get you a badge." He said as he gave my hand back. "Keep the paper towel over it to stop it from bleeding. If you keep it under the water, the blood won't clot and the bandage won't want to stay on."

Charlie walked out of the kitchen and I kept the towel over my finger, still not looking at it. When Charlie came back, he took the paper towel off and placed the little bandage on my finger. "There, now you won't have to look at it."

I sighed in relief as I looked down and only seen the Band-aid. I walked over to the knife and washed it, using many my other hand so I didn't get my bandage wet.

"Bells, why don't you let me finish chopping up the vegetables and you can get started on the fish." Charlie said as he came over to take the knife from me.

"Dad, it was an accident, I can finish cutting up the vegetables I said." I said with a sigh.

"I know, I just want to help. And you know me, you're better at the whole cooking thing but I think I can handle shopping things." Charlie said with a chuckle. I sighed again and handed him the knife. Yeah, right. He was probably only offering to help so I didn't cut myself again.

"Alright. I will get started on the fish." I said as I walked over to the cupboard to garb a frying pan.

When I was halfway through with the fish, the doorbell rang and Charlie went to go answer it. I heard Billy's booming voice as he and Jacob came in through the front door.

"Hey Bella. Long time no see." Jacob said in his usual cheery voice as he walked into the kitchen. I giggled. Jeez, what is this guy? Bipolar? One minute he was all in the dumps and now he's as cheery as can be.

"Hey Jacob." I greeted. Well, at least he was in a better mood now. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Do you need any help?" He asked as he stood in the middle of the kitchen, looking around it with his hands in his pockets.

"Well, my vegetable man disappeared on me to go talk to your dad, so could you check to see if the vegetables are done? They are in the microwave." I said as I turned back to the fish.

"Okay." He said. "Um, how do I know they are done?"

I laughed, "They should be soft but not too soft. They should have at least a little crunch to them when you bite into them. So, just take one and test it out yourself."

He did as I said and plopped a carrot into his mouth, "Well, I would say they are done."

"Perfect. Can you put them on the table for me?" I asked as I went over to the counter and grabbed a large plate. I went back over to the stove and placed the fried fish onto it.

"Dinner's ready guys!" I yelled out.

I walked over and placed the plate down on the set table. Charlie and Billy came in the kitchen and to their spots at the table.

"It smells good Bella." Billy said.

"Wait until you taste it." Charlie said with a chuckle.

We all sat around and ate, chatting about the day and what went on. I had to admit, I did have a lot of fun spending time with them and I actually enjoyed fishing. It was a peaceful sport that didn't require a whole lot of grace and I loved being able to sit in the company of nature. I might actually go fishing with Charlie more often. Maybe once Charlie knows about Edward and I, all three of us can go on a little fishing trip ourselves. I would also like to go with everyone else. I wanted to see Alice's face when she would have to bait her own hook.

"That was great Bella. We need to come over for dinner more often." Billy said as he patted his stomach when we were all done.

"Thank you." I said. And began to clear away the plates.

"Isn't there another game on tonight?" Charlie asked.

"I think so. It started about six thirty." Bully said.

"You want to catch the rest of it?" Charlie asked.

"Sure, I have a twenty dollar bet with Sam that my team's going to win." Billy said with a grin.

"Shame - shame Billy. Gambling with minors?" Charlie asked and we laughed. "Well, lets go catch the rest of it. You don't mind do you Bells?"

"Nope. Jacob can help me with the dishes." I said and began to put some of the left over fish in a bag for them to take home.

Charlie wheel Billy out of the kitchen and into the living room, leaving Jacob and I alone to clean up. I was hoping there was game on so I could talk to Jacob about what happened earlier.

"Um, so, what was going on with you earlier?" I asked as I began to wash and he dried.

"What do you mean?" He asked casually.

"Well, you were acting strange when we left the lake." I said and handed him a washed dish to dry.

"Um…it's nothing really." He said. I was shocked to see a tinge of red appear on his russet skin. He was blushing?

"It sure didn't look like nothing." I said.

"Well, it was just…I…" He began but shut his mouth and turned his eyes back to the dish he was drying.

"Jacob, what is it? You can tell me." I said as I handed him another dish. He didn't look at me; he kept his eyes on the plate.

"Well, I just thought that you…"He said, but again stopped.

"That I…?" I said, trying to get him to continue.

He put the dried dish down with the others and looked at me. "I just thought that you liked me."

I stared at him for a moment, letting the words sink it. He thought that I liked him? What did he mean by that?

He must have sensed my confusion because he added, "As more than just a friend."

Ohhh. That's what he meant. Oh my, this is just great. I turned looked down at my hands. What on earth do I say to that? I don't like him, other than just a friend. But, how do I say it without hurting his feelings? Or should I just be blunt and tell him?

"Uh, Jacob…I…" I began, but he cut me up by raising his hand.

"It's okay Bella. I know you don't like me the way I thought you did." He said with a frown.

"Well, how do you know?" I said curious. What made him think that today all of a sudden?

"Because, after lunch you did nothing but text with someone. And, I was curious to know who it was so…" He started.

"So…what?" I asked shutting the water off and turning to look at him.

"So, when you were re-baiting your hook, you left your phone on the bench. And when you weren't looking, I looked at it to see who it was you were texting. I read what he wrote and it obviously wasn't from just a friend. So, I was intrigued and went through to look at the other messages he left and I figured out that you must be with the guy." He said sheepishly.

"You – you went and read my messages?" I said disbelievingly. "Jacob…I-I can't even believe you would do that!"

"I'm sorry Bella. I just really wanted to know. Like I said, I thought that you liked me and I like you so I was hoping that maybe something could happen between us. You know? Become more than just friends? But, I'm glad I found out because I would have only embarrassed myself." He said looking down at his feet and then muttered, "Like this isn't embarrassing."

I sighed. Despite my anger, I felt bad for not telling Jacob that I was with someone. "Jacob, no I'm sorry."

He looked up at me confused and I continued, "I'm sorry that I may have led you on to feelings that you thought were more than just friendly. I do like you Jacob, but only as a friend. I know we aren't closest of friends, but I really hope we can stay friends. Especially after all of this."

"It's all right Bella. I know we aren't the closest of friends, but I'd rather have you as a friend and rather than not anything else. So, I hope this doesn't change anything between us either." He said with a little grin. "Am I forgiven?"

"Yes, you are forgiven. As long as you forgive me that is." I said with my own grin.

Jacob sighed dramatically and looked up at the ceiling while crossing his arms, "Well I don't know…"

"Jacob!" I laughed and swatted at his arm playfully.

He chuckled, "All right –all right. You are forgiven."

"Good." I said and gave him a hug. We pulled away and started on washing the rest of the dishes.

"So, you and Cullen eh?" He asked me with a grin when I handed him a dish.

"Yep." I said, making a popping noise with the 'P'.

"So, when did that happen?" He asked.

"They day I woke up in the hospital." I said and handed him another.

"Oh. Well, he better treat you right Bells. If he ever does anything to hurt you, come to me and I will make sure he hurts ten times worse." He said as his husky voice taking on a serious tone

I laughed, " Jacob. I will be fine. I really don't think he would do anything to hurt me. But, if he does, I will come to you."

"You promise?" He asked.

"Yes, I promise." I said.

"Good. Hey, what happened to your finger by the way?" He asked as he pointed to the bandage when I handed him a fork to dry.

"Oh, I cut my self when I was chopping up the vegetables." I said nonchalantly.

He sighed and shook his head. "Bella Bella Bella. What are we going to do with you? You should seriously think about moving into a hospital or something."

I took some of the soapsuds and flung them at his chest.

"Hey! What was that for?" He asked as he brushed them off.

"For being a meany. That's why." I said as I flung more at him. I laughed when some landed on his nose.

"Oh, you are going to get it!" He said and came at me. I screamed and went for more soap sides to throw at him.

That's pretty much how the rest of the evening went. Jacob and I had a soapsud fight. By the time we finished with the dishes, the game was over and Jacob was wheeling a very mad Billy Black out the door. Apparently he lost and owed Sam Uley twenty dollars.

Now, I am up in my room, brushing my hair after I put my Pajamas on. As soon as I sat the brush down, my phone rang. I went over to my dresser and looked at the ID. I smiled when it read, _Edward_.

"Hello?" I answered after I pushed the talk button.

"Hey Bella." Edwards's velvety voice said on the other end. I plopped down on my bed and laid my head down against the pillows.

"Hey Edward, how was your day?" I asked.

"It was okay. But I missed you too much." He said. I smiled.

"I missed you too."

"So, how did the fishing go?"

"It went great. I ended up being the one to catch the first fish. It was _huge_."

Edward chuckled, "I wish I could have seen it."

"Well you will be able too. Jacob took a picture of me with my phone so I will show it to you whenever I see you." I said.

"I can't wait to see it then. And, I can't wait to see _you_. Did you want to do something tomorrow?" He asked. I was shocked by the hint of desperation in his voice.

"Actually, yes. I was wondering if you wanted to come over so we could tell Charlie about us." I said and held my breath as I waited for him to answer.

"Bella, I think that's a great idea! I am glad that you are finally ready to tell him because it was getting harder and harder to restrain myself from kissing you or even holding your hand at school." He said. I smiled and I could picture his crooked grin.

"I know what you mean. How about you come over around noon?" I asked.

"Sure, I will be there. Oh, and next Saturday, I figured that maybe you would want to come over here and you can meet my mom and visit Carlisle outside of the hospital." He chuckled.

"Okay, I would love to meet Esme. You guys talk about her all the time and I can't wait to see her." I said.

"Great. So, I will see you around noon tomorrow then?" He asked.

"Yep." I said. I tried to restrain myself but I could not hold back the yawn.

"You must be tired Bella. It's getting late so I will let you get some rest." He said.

"No! I want to talk to you." I whined.

"Bella," he chuckled, "I will see you tomorrow. Get some sleep okay?"

I sighed, "All right. Remember, noon tomorrow."

" I won't forget Bella. Now get some sleep."

"Okay. Oh, and Edward, you don't happen to have a bullet proof vest do you?" I asked grinning as I tried to picture his face.

"No…. why?" He asked.

"Mmm, just wondering."

He chuckled, "Okay Bella. Get some sleep now and I will see you tomorrow."

"Okay, goodnight Edward." I said with another yawn.

"Goodnight Bella, and sweet dreams." He said softly.

I sighed and clipped my phone shut. I really wanted to talk to him more, but my sleepiness was taking over me. I got up from my bed and plugged my phone in it's charger. I then went back over to my bed and undid the covers. I shut the light off and crawled under the covers, sighing as my muscles began to relax from there long day of fishing. I bet my arms are going to be swore by tomorrow.

I sighed again as I rolled over ob my side. I was starting to worry about tomorrow. I hope everything goes well and Charlie will be fine with Edward and us being together. But, there is only one way to find out, and that's to sit him down and tell him. I better hide Charlie's gun when I get up in the morning.

**AN: Whoa. I am sorry but I was not aware of how long this chapter was until I finished it. I actually enjoyed writing this chapter and it all just flowed out. Well, what did you think about it? I know most of you might be upset that Edward was not in the chapter, but I really really wanted to do this one. I always wondered why Bella never wanted to try fishing again when she was older, so I wanted to add this in here. Plus, it's a little father/daughter bonding time so I thought it was sweet. I also didn't take my time to edit it so I apologize if there are a lot of mistakes. I just wanted to get this chapter out sooner because I did not know when I was going to be able to get on the computer again.**

**Anyways, please review and let me know what you thought! I'm getting a little disappointed because it seems like I'm getting less and less reviews. Is my story doing that bad? Well, please review and let me know what you think about it.**

**Next Chapter, there will be A LOT of Edward, I promise. It's going to be Edward and Bella telling Charlie and what his reactions going to be. Plus, it will be Edward and Bella at school. And, It will be Bella going to the Cullen house for the first time!**

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE :D


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: Okey Dokey, first off, I would like to thank all my wonderful most amazing reviewers who gave me great encouragement to continue with this. I was really starting to think that this was going to the dumps with the less reviews I was getting but, a lot of you have reassured me that it has not. But, please let me know at anytime if you think my story isn't doing well and I'm starting to loose you or I am getting boring. Anyways, thank you all again! You deserve the biggest Emmett bear hugs ever! :D**

**Okey, I know this chapter is long, but bear with me here. I had fun writing it so I hope you guys have fun reading. Please please leave me a review when you are finished! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Now on with the chapter…**

Ch. 12

I yawned and rolled over to my side to see what time it was. My evil alarm clock read, _8:15am._ Well, I can either get out of bed now…or I can lay in my fluffy warmness a little longer. Eh, what the heck, I will lay here a little longer. I snuggled up deeper in my covers trying to figure out what I was going to do today, but it was hard to think clearly with my sleepy haze that still hovered over me.

What was I going to do today? Hmmm, I know Edward was coming over but what were we going to do? Go hang out with everyone else? God, I hope we don't go to the movies again. I heard there was another new scary movie out and ten to one if Emmett got there first, we would be watching it. And there was no way I was going to sit through…OH CRAP!

I snapped my eyes open and popped up in bed as I remembered why Edward was coming over. We were going to tell Charlie that we were together now. Oh god, I am so not looking forward to this.

I groaned and put my face in my hands. What if Charlie doesn't approve of us being together? What if he forbids me not to see Edward? Oh my, what if he hurts Edward? God, please don't let things get out of hand. I really should make sure that Charlie is nowhere near his gun. Maybe we will tell him in the living room. He usual keeps his gun in its holster and hooks it on the key rack in the kitchen. But, doesn't he have a shotgun somewhere? He wouldn't actually hurt or…kill Edward would he? Oh God Bella, you are getting paranoid. Stop it!

I sighed and pushed the covers off me and got out of bed. I walked over to my closet and rummaged through it, looking for what I was going to wear. I chose a pair of jeans and a blue blouse that was apart of the new wardrobe Alice got me while I was in the hospital. I grabbed my toiletries and clothes, and headed to the bathroom to take a warm shower in hopes to sooth my nerves.

When I got out and dressed, I blow dried my hair and then put it up into a ponytail. After I was done with the rest of my bathroom needs, I went back to my room to put my toiletries away and then headed downstairs to find Charlie.

When I walked into the kitchen, I found Charlie sitting at the table eating a plate of fried eggs while he read the newspaper.

"Morning Dad." I said as I walked over to the fridge.

"Morning Bella. How are your arms doing?" he asked with a grin as he looked up from his paper.

"They are doing fine. I'm surprised that they aren't soar." I said as I grabbed a jug of orange juice.

"Yeah, me too. That was a pretty big one you caught yesterday." He said as he took a bite from his eggs.

I walked over to the table and sat down with a glass of orange juice. And began to sip at it. Okay, I have to figure out how the heck I am going to tell him.

"Hey Bells, I didn't tell you yesterday, but I am really glad that you went with us. It was nice spending time with you like that and I hope you had fun." He said a little awkward as he put his paper down to look at me.

"I'm glad that I went too. I actually had a lot of fun with you guys and it was nice to spend a little time together." I said and took another sip.

"Well, I hope you will consider on going again sometime." He said.

"Yeah, I would love to dad." I said as I began to fidget with my hands.

"Is everything okay Bells?" He asked raising an eyebrow. Crap, he caught me fidgeting.

"Um, well. Uh- what are you doing today dad?" I asked.

"Well, I don't think I'm doing anything except watch some TV and maybe do a little yard work." He said and took a drink of his coffee. "Why do you ask?"

"Um, well I was wondering if I could talk to you about…something." I said. And looked down at my orange juice.

"Uh, okay. Did you want to talk about it now?" He asked.

"No. I'm waiting for someone to come over. They sort of need to be here too." I said.

He looked at me puzzled, "All right. What time is this 'someone' coming over then?"

"He'll be here around noon." I said quietly.

"He?" he asked. Uh –oh. I should not have said that. Damn it Bella. You're going to blow it and you're not even to the important part yet.

I just nodded my head and took another sip of my juice. Charlie got up from his seat and took his plate over to the sink to wash it.

"Okay. I'm going to head up and take a shower and get ready." Charlie said as he washed his plate.

"All right dad. I will be in my room if you need me." I said and got up from my seat.

I walked up the stairs to my room and once I was inside, I shut the door quietly behind me. I picked up my pajamas from off of the floor and sat them on my chair in the corner. Then, I made up my bed, wishing I could just crawl right back under the warm covers to hide from the world and what was to come with Charlie finding out our news. Once the bed was made, I plopped down on top of it sighing and shutting my eyes.

Just breathe Bella. I am sure things will be fine. As long as Charlie is sitting, far away from any gun in this house, then I think everything will be fine. At least, I hope. I have never had to go through with telling Charlie about a boyfriend. How was I supposed to do it? 'Uh dad, Edward and I are going out now, so um, yeah.' Do I just spit it out like that? Get to the point and let it be over with? Or do I lead things up to it and slowly let him digest it? The look on his face when he thought we were together wasn't a very happy expression.

"Bells?" I heard someone say followed by a soft knock on my door. What the heck? I sat up and blinked my eyes quickly. "Are you alive in there?"

"Uh, yeah." I answered Charlie, still sitting up on the bed.

"Oh, well, Edward's here. He's waiting for you downstairs. I called up to you a couple of times but you weren't responding so I can up here to see if you were all right." He replied through the door.

"Oh, thanks dad. Wait, Edwards here?" I asked in a state of panic. He wasn't supposed to be here until noon! I reached over and grabbed my phone from off of my nightstand and read the time, _12:15pm. _Oh my, I must have fallen a sleep.

"Yeah." He said.

"Okay, I'll be right down." I said and got off the bed. I went over to my little mirror on the wall and looked at my reflection. I looked the same as I did when I lied down, un-knowingly taking a nap. I took a deep breath as I gazed back at myself. This is it. Either Charlie is going to take the news well or I may never see a single boy in my entire life after today.

I took one last deep breath and walked towards my door. I noticed as I reached for the handle, my hands were shaking. God Bella, you act like you are going to testify in court or something. Calm down!

I walked out of my room and slowly down the stares, making sure I didn't kill myself. I made it to the last step and walked slowly into the living room. Edward was seated on the couch, staring at the TV while Charlie did the same in his recliner. They both weren't talking, just sitting there in silence while staring at the game that was playing on the TV. This was not a good sign.

I cleared my throat and both of them turned to look at me. My breath caught when Edwards emerald green eyes gazed back at me. I don't know how many times his gaze made me act this way, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to subside. He stood up from his seat on the couch and gave me his usual crooked grin that made my knees tremble. Just looking at him made me tremble. He looked gorgeous standing here in this plain little living room and was absolutely the best thing in it. I had to resist the urge to run up to him and wrap my arms around his neck. But, instead of doing that, I walked over to him just as slowly as I had when I entered the living room.

"What were you doing in there Bells?" Charlie asked as he turned off the TV. When I reached Edward, he smiled and grabbed my hand and sat me down next to him on the couch.

"I fell a sleep." I said, still not being able to turn my eyes away from the gorgeous boy sitting here next to me.

All of a sudden I heard Charlie clear his throat, and we both turned to look at him. He was still sitting in the recliner but had a suspicious expression as he looked between Edward and I. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about Bells?"

Oh crap. How am I going to start this? Come on Bella think! I felt Edwards hand grab the one that was sitting on my thigh, and gave it a gentle squeeze. It only calmed me enough to begin, but I hope it would calm me enough to finish. I looked up at him and gave him a small smile of thanks, which earned me one in return, and then turned my eyes on Charlie as he looked at us with a frown.

"Well, um dad. Edward and I have something to tell you." I said quietly and looked down at Edwards's hand entwined with mine.

"Okay. What is it you two want to tell me?" He asked.

"Well, you see. Um, Edward and I are…"I stopped. Oh my. This is even harder than I thought it was going to be.

"Edward and you are?" Charlie asked slowly.

Well, it was now or never. I took a deep breath and looked back up at him and finished where I left off. "Edward and I are…together."

I held my breath as I stared at Charlie. He sat there with a weird look on his face. It looked like someone was explaining the hardest thing in the world to him and he was trying to figure out what they meant.

"You two are together?" He asked uncertainly, with the same look on his face. Edward and I both nodded. "As in you two are boyfriend and girlfriend?"

I looked at Edward and he looked at me. We both turned to Charlie and nodded in confirmation again. I still held my breath as I waited for Charlie to respond. This so far was not what I expected. I thought he would jump up and start yelling at us and threaten Edward to stay away from me. But this, this was actually a little bit scarier. He just sat there, thinking to himself with his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth in a slight frown.

"Chief Swan, I just want you to know that I care for Bella more than anything else in my life. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I hope you will give me the honor in being with her. I promise to take care of her and I will not do anything to hurt her. If you wish for us not to be together than, I will respect your wish. But please, know that your daughter has made me happier than anything else in this town and I know I make her happy as well. So, before denying our happiness, please take your time to think about this." Edward said respectfully to Charlie. I looked at him shocked. I wasn't expecting Edward to say anything; I thought I was going to be doing all of the talking. Edward sat there with a calm expression as he stared at Charlie.

I looked over at Charlie who was looking at Edward. His face was still pulled into this puzzled expression. But what came next, I definitely was not expecting. His face dropped a little but looked calmer than it had and then he nodded his head.

"All right. I kind of guessed you two were together and I am glad you two came to me and told me." He said and then turned to look at me. "But Bella, I will only be fine with this if Renee approves."

I looked at him in a daze, still shocked that he has not ran upstairs to grab his shotgun. I shook my head a little to clear it and responded, "Oh, she already knows dad and she approves of us being together." He looked at me skeptically, probably by the breathless way I had answered.

"Dad, you can ask her if you want." I said as I reached for my cell phone that was in my pocket. He held his hand up to stop my actions.

"Bella, I believe you. But if you do anything to break my trust, and this means you lying to me that Renee knows and approves, than I am afraid I am going to have to ask you two to stop seeing each other." He stated in a serious tone. I recognized it as his "chief" tone.

"I promise dad. Mom knows about everything. She even asked me to bring Edward with me when I go see her for Thanksgiving." I said and stiffened when I realized I just blurted out about my Thanksgiving plan without talking to Edward about it first. I turned to look slowly at Edward who looked at me a little shocked but still displayed his gorgeous smile.

"Okay Bella. Then, I guess I am okay with you and Edward being…together." Charlie said but sounded like he had to struggle to say it. I can't believe it. Charlie is okay with this? Okay, where's the hidden camera? Isn't this the part where he says, '_Just kidding!'_ and then kicks Edward out of the house?

"Really dad?" I couldn't resist. He looked at me and pulled a little smile. It was little, but at least it was there.

"Yes Bella." He said. I let out a sigh in relief and did something that Alice was well known for, I squealed.

"Oh my, thank you Charlie!" I said excitedly. I turned to Edward who was looking at me amused. Ha, lets just see how amused you look when I do this. I didn't even think about Charlie being in the room. I was just so happy that he accepted us being together and we no longer had to hide it. I grabbed Edwards face with both of my hands and kissed him.

I heard Charlie clear his throat and said, "Hey-hey now kids. I gave you guy's permission to be together but that doesn't mean I want to see what it is you teenagers do when you are together. So, lets keep it PG around your dad please Bells."

I pulled away from a surprised Edward and blushed. "Sorry dad."

Charlie grunted and got up out of his recliner. "Is there anything else you guys wanted to talk about?"

I shook my head no, "Nope. That was it dad."

"Okay. I'm going to head down to the hardware store to get some nails. I want to fix some of the hinges on the windows." He said.

:"Oh, okay. Would you like me to fix you some lunch for when you get back?" I asked. Heck, I would fix him a whole feast. I am still in disbelief that he is allowing us to be together.

"You don't have to Bells. I can fix myself something." He said.

"Well, I want to." I said smiling.

"Okay, I should be back in a half an hour." He said and started to head for the kitchen. Edward surprised me again by standing up.

"Chief Swan…" Edward said. Charlie turned around to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "I just wanted to thank you. And as I said before, I promise I will take care of her and I will not do anything to hurt her."

Charlie walked over to Edward and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you will Edward. After what I have seen when she was in the hospital, I knew you cared for her in some way and I am glad that you were there for her. I trust you with my Bells. But, do anything to break that trust, than I am afraid I have a holding cell with your name on it."

"Thank you sir, I am glad that I have your trust." Edward said and they both smiled. Whoa. Well at least he just threatened to lock him up, not to kill him.

"All right you guys. I will be back in a few." Charlie said and made his way back into the kitchen to grab his keys.

I turned to look at Edward who was looking at me with a smile on his face. I smiled back. I still can't believe how lucky I was that this angel standing here next to me, actually wanted to be with me. I don't think I will ever be able to get my head around that.

"Okay kids. I'm out of here. But, don't be doing anything…you know…inappropriate just because I am gone." Charlie said as he walked out of the kitchen, keys in hand.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes dad. I will probably have lunch ready by the time you get back."

Charlie nodded his head and shot a look at Edward that clearly said, 'you guys better not do anything', and then headed out the front door. Once the cruiser pulled out of the driveway I turned to look at Edward who was still staring at me. Suddenly, he came forward and engulfed me with his arms, into a hug; my feet lifted slightly off the ground and he began to twirl me.

"I am so glad we don't have to hide this anymore Bella." Edward said and chuckled when I giggled. He gently set my back down on my feet and I warped my arms around his neck.

"I am too Edward. I am so relived that he approved of us. This honestly went a lot better than I thought it would have." I said with a sigh of relief.

I looked up into Edwards's eyes and noticed that they were smoldering as he looked back into mine. My breath caught in my throat as he slowly leaned down, leaving only an inch of space between my eagerly awaiting lips. I almost grabbed him and kissed him right then since he was being so slow, but soon I felt the familiar jolt of electricity go down my spine as Edward's warm and soft lips met mine gently. The kiss started off slow and sweet but soon turned into a passionate one that left my legs weak and my knees tremble. Edward's hold around my waist tightened as he felt myself weaken in his arms. Even though I wanted to kiss Edward forever without breaking away, I was beginning to get light headed and knew I needed air if I didn't want to pass out. So, I regretfully pulled away from his warm intoxicating lips, leaving us both gasping for air. Edwards's hands came up to my cheeks as he stoked them both gently. The look in his eyes made me even more breathless as I recognized the emotion that was behind them. Love. Pure Love.

"Breath Bella." Edwards's velvet voice said softly. His crooked grin was slowly making its way on his face, leaving me even more dazzled. I took a deep shaky breath and gave him a smile of my own that probably looked like a goofy grin. I still can't believe that I have this angel in my life.

"I don't think I will ever get over how much your kisses leave me entranced." I said breathlessly.

He chuckled, "Well, I don't think I will ever get over how much I am going to be able to kiss such a beautiful girl."

I blushed which only caused him to chuckle more. He took one of his hands from off of my face and grabbed my hand. "As much as I want to stand here and kiss you more, I think we should probably get lunch ready before Charlie gets back."

I sighed, "Yeah. You're probably right. I still can't get over how calm he was. I was waiting for him to jump up and grab his shot gun."

"Is that why you asked if I had a bullet proof vest on the phone last night?" He asked with and amused expression.

"Yep. I was afraid he was going to shot you. You know, with him being a cop and all? God knows he can get his hands on probably any gun in this town." I said with a giggle and began to lead him into the kitchen.

"You're staying for lunch right?" I asked almost anxiously as I let go of his hand and walked over to the fridge.

"I don't know…you aren't going to poison me, are you?" He asked with a smirk. I turned around to scold him.

"Edward you…"I started to say.

"Bella, I'm just kidding. I would love to stay for lunch." He said as he came over and wrapped his arms around my waist. I felt like he put me under a spell the moment his arms wrapped around me. He leaned down and kissed my forehead lightly, just like the way he would when I was in the hospital.

"You better be." Was all I could think of saying. I swear, it's like I become mentally challenged whenever I am in the presence of Edward.

He chuckled, "So, what's for lunch?"

"I don't know yet." I said, still in a daze. "I have to look."

"Oh, and why aren't you looking?" He said with a grin, as his lips seemed to be getting closer to mine. I started to feel lightheaded all over again.

"Be-because, I –uh…"I stuttered out. Oh God, this is embarrassing. Way to go Bella. You sound like a blubbering idiot!

"Because, you uh what?" Edward said. His grin seemed to grow by the second as he realized the effect he put on me. I was starting to get frustrated because I could he was enjoying this.

"I uh…ugh, would you stop that!" I said as I pulled out of his arms and opened the refrigerator door. I heard his deep chuckle come from behind me.

"Sorry Bella. I couldn't resist." He said amusedly. I turned around to look at him. He was leaning up against the counter, arms crossed against his chest as he stared at me with his crooked grin. How does he manage to look like a Greek God in this dumpy little kitchen?

I rolled my eyes, "Well, I better figure out what make before Charlie gets back. He might think something happened."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Would you like any help?" I heard him ask as I dug through the fridge.

I decided on making some spaghetti. I was boiling some water, getting it ready for the noodles while Edward chopped some squash, zucchini, carrots, and onions to put into the sauce. He saw the bandage on my finger and when I told him how it happened, he immediately offered to do any cutting that would be involved.

Edward and I worked silently. It was like a comfortable and comforting silence and I loved it. I put the noodles into the boiling pot and got another one to start the sauce. Once that was ready, Edward was pretty much done with the vegetables and added them in with the almost finished sauce. I walked over to the sink to wash some of the dishes to get them out of the way.

"So far, it looks and smells good." Edward said as he came behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"It does, thanks for helping me." I said as I sat a cleaned spoon in the strainer. I was disappointed when Edward released his hold on me but he was soon beside me with a dishtowel drying the clean spoon.

"No problem. All though, I enjoy watching you work more than helping. You seem to be in your own little world when you're cooking, it's cute." He said with a chuckle as he took another spoon from me. I blushed and reached to grab the knife that Edward used when his hand came out and wrapped around my wrist.

"Uh, I think I should wash that Bella." He said. I looked up at him stunned. What? Was I not able to touch knives at all now? What if I had to cut my own food up? Was he going to cut it up for me like I'm some little kid?

"Edward, I can handle washing a knife. I've done it for years and I've still managed to not kill myself." I said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry Bella. You're right. I just don't want you to get hurt is all." He said in a solemn tone. I immediately felt bad and realized he was just worried about me, not trying to be sarcastic or funny.

"I'm sorry too Edward. But, I can wash the knife. I will be fine." I said with a smile. He smiled his crooked grin back at me and I continued with washing the knife.

"Hey kids, I'm back." I heard Charlie call from the living room and heard his foot steps get closer to the kitchen.

"We're in here dad." I said as I finished setting the table. Charlie walked in and placed his keys on the key rack.

"It smells good in here." Charlie said as he took his usual seat. "Spaghetti?"

"Yep. It should be finished too." I said and turned the burners off. I grabbed the pot of spaghetti and drained the water out while Edward poured the sauce into a large bowl on the table. Once the noodles were drained, I put them in another large bowl and place it on the table.

"Well, dig in everyone." I said. I was just about to pull out my chair when Edward beat me too it. I smiled a thank you to him and sat down. Edward took his place next to me.

We were eating in silence for a while. It was kind of awkward with Charlie sneaking looks at Edward and Edward sneaking looks at me the whole time.

"So, Edward. Did Bella tell you all about our fishing trip yesterday?" Charlie asked and then took a bite full of spaghetti.

"Yes she did actually. She told me she had a great time with you." Edward said.

"Oh. Did she tell you about the fish she caught?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, she said it was pretty big." Edward said with a chuckle.

"Yeah. You should have seen it. Poor Bells was struggling to reel it in and when she did we couldn't believe the size of it. Did she show you the picture of it?" He asked.

"No. She hasn't." Edward said and looked at me. I reached into my pocket and grabbed my cell phone. Once I found the picture of the giant fish and I, I handed it over to Edward.

"Wow. That fish is almost bigger than her whole arm." Edward chuckled and handed me my phone back.

"Yeah, she couldn't hold the sucker with one hand, she had to use both." Charlie said and both he and Edward laughed.

I sighed, great. I'm being the center of someone's entertainment, again. And it just so happens to be my boyfriend and my father. Well, at least I'm not watching my boyfriend being murdered in front of me by my father.

We finished up our lunch a little after. We mostly sat quietly after Edward and Charlie had a great time laughing at my fishing experience. Once and a while Edward would ask Charlie some questions like about what's been going on at the station and how things are going around the city. Charlie asked some about Carlisle and Esme, which brought Edward to ask if it was all right if I could go to his house on Saturday.

"Sure, that sounds great. I'm probably going to be at Billy's helping him out with some stuff on the reservation so that would be fine with me." Charlie said as he sat his empty bowl in the sink. I got up and grabbed the rest of the leftovers and sat them on the counter. "Thanks for the lunch Bells. I'm almost too full to do anything but I really need to get some stuff done around here.

"No problem dad. And Edward helped me out of course." I said as I began to put the leftovers in some Tupperware.

"All's I did was cut some vegetables. It was all of Bella's cooking." Edward said as he started to clear the rest of the stuff off of the table.

"Guys, come on. You act like you've never had spaghetti before." I said and stuck the Tupperware into the fridge.

"Well, you're an awesome cook Bells. What can I say?" Charlie said with a shrug. "Well, I better get to started or else I never will.

"Okay Dad." I chuckled and Charlie disappeared out of the kitchen.

I walked over to the sink where I started to wash the dishes. Edward automatically resumed his position next to me, dishtowel in hand.

"Edward, you don't have to do that. You're a guest here." I said as I washed a bowl.

"Bella, I know I don't have to but I want to. Thank you for lunch by the way." Edward said as he leaned over and kissed my cheek. I smiled and handed him the washed bowl.

"So, what do you want to do now?" I asked after we finished up all the dishes. Edward sat the dishtowel down on the counter and leaned up against it.

"Hmm…well, there are quiet a few things I could thing of doing." Edward said with a smirk as he rubbed his chin in thought making him look to dam irresistible.

"But, I don't feel like dying today so why don't we just watch a movie or something?" He suggested. I rolled my eyes and laughed

"I rolled my eyes and laughed. "You're right. I don't want to be the one to clean up the mess when Charlie is done with you. So, I guess a movie sounds good." I said. Edward chuckled as I grabbed his hand and began to lead him into the living room.

We plopped down on the couth together, still holding hands. Charlie was still out front doing god knows what, so we were safe for now.

"So, what movie did you want to watch?" I asked Edward.

"Whatever you want to watch is fine with me." He said as he rubbed the back of my hand softy with his thumb. Okay, you continue doing that, then I just might not want to pick a movie to watch at all.

Regretfully I got up. Edward let go of my hand and I walked over to our DVD collection. After running over different tittles, we both agreed on watching _Sixteen Candles._ We were at the part were Sam was at the wedding chapel with her family, trying to get her sisters shoes on because she's too tripped out on muscle relaxers when Edward's phone rang. I paused the movie to let Edward talk.

"Hello?"…"Oh, hey Esme. I'm at Bella's right now."…"Oh, okay. I will be there in a few."…Okay, love you too."…"Bye." He shut his phone shut and looked at me apoplectically.

"I'm sorry Bella, but that was Esme. She wants me to help her out with some boxes that just arrived at the house. They are too heavy for her to lift and no one's there except Alice, so she wants me to come and get them in the house before it starts to rain." He said.

"That's okay." I said, trying to hide my disappointment.

I stood up and Edward fallowed me in suit. "I have some English and Math homework I need to get working on before school tomorrow anyway."

"Okay." He said as he closed the space between us by wrapping me up in his arms. Did I mention how much I loved to be in his arms? "I am so glad I don't have to hide doing this tomorrow at school."

"Me too. And with Alice and Eli staring at us like we were the two most interesting people in the world didn't help much." I said as I laid my head on his shoulder. I felt him rub small circles on my back.

"Yeah…"He chuckled, "But just think of how they are going to act now that we don't have to hide it from everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if Alice didn't announce that we are now together over the intercom tomorrow."

I groaned, "I swear if Alice does do that, I will steal her credit cards, shred them up, and leave the remains in her locker."

This made him chuckle again and I smiled at the feeling of his chest rumbling against my cheek. "I might just help you on that one." He said.

Our happy little revere didn't last as long as I wanted it too. We suddenly heard someone clear their throat from the entrance to the living room. I lifted my head up and saw Charlie standing with his arms crossed and not looking like a happy camper. Edward must have looked too because his arms were loosed from around me only letting one arm hang over my shoulder as we turned to Charlie.

"Sorry, Dad. Edward was just-just leaving." I said with a blush at having been caught. At least he didn't catch us in a full out Emmett/Rosalie make out session.

"Okay. Well, I'm done with the front for now. I'm going to head up to get cleaned up." Charlie said as he walked over to us and held out his hand to Edward. "Edward, it was nice talking to you."

"You too Chief Swan." Edward said as he shook his hand firmly.

"Edward, as long as you have my trust, you might as well call me Charlie." He said.

"Thank you Charlie." He said and the turned to me. "Bella, I really must be going."

"Okay." I said and grabbed his hand.

"Thanks again Charlie." Edward said as I lead him to the door.

Once we were at the door, I turned to Edward and put my arms around his neck. His arms found their place around my waist.

"Thank you for coming over today and helping me out with telling Charlie. I'm sure you're little speech sealed the deal." I said.

He chuckle, "What, you didn't like my speech?"

"No, I did. I just wasn't expecting it." I said.

"Well, I'm glad I could help. And, thank you for lunch, it was wonderful and I can't wait to try any other meals that you have planned under your sleeve." He said and leaned down. Our lips met in a soft, brief kiss. He didn't want to over do it since Charlie was still in the living room, probably listening to our conversation right now.

"Bye Bella. I will see you tomorrow. Same time in the morning as usual?" He asked.

"I'll be ready." I said. I wanted to do everything in my power to keep him here but I knew Esme really needed his help.

"Okay, I will see you in the morning then." He said and pulled away from me. I opened the front door for him and he stepped out.

"Yep, I will see you in the morning. Bye Edward." I said with a smile.

"Bye Bella." He said and turned towards his silver Volvo. I stood there and watched as he gave me one last wave before he drove off down the street and turned the corner.

I closed the door and leaned my back against it. Well, today went a lot better than I had expected.

"Bells?" Charlie called form the living room.

"Yeah dad?" I asked, still leaning against the door.

"Can you come here for a sec?" He asked.

I walked into the living room to find him sitting in his recliner.

"Yeah dad?" I asked again.

"Bella, I just wanted to let you know, I think Edward is a good kid. I am glad that if you found yourself…involved…with someone, than I am glad it is someone like him." Charlie said looking a little awkward. Heck, this whole situation is awkward!

"Um, thanks dad." I said standing in the doorway looking down at my feet. I looked up to see Charlie doing the same. I smiled, like father like daughter. "Was there anything else?"

"Um…nope. I just wanted to tell you that. Oh, and again, thank you for coming to me and letting me know about you two in person." He said and got up from his recliner. "Well, I am going to go clean up. Hey, since you spent all that time cooking lunch today, why don't I just go pick us up something to eat?"

"That sounds good." I said in relief. I did have a lot of homework to get done and I didn't want to spend the whole night trying to finish it.

"Okay then. Does burgers sound good?" He asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good." I said. "I'm going to head up to my room and get started on some homework."

It was 10:30pm by the time I finished my last math problem and I was exhausted. Edward ended up calling me around eight and then scolded me when he realized I should have been doing homework, and not talking to him. But, oh well. I was just happy to hear his voice. I ended up apologizing to him about not telling him my Thanksgiving plans. He said that it was okay and he would love to come with me to Renee's, but had to talk it over with Carlisle and Esme first. I was just happy that he actually wanted to come.

I sighed in contentment as I laid in my comfy warm haven. Jeez, fearing that your father is going to kill your boyfriend really drains the life out of you.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal when I heard the Volvo pull up in the driveway. I looked at the clock on the microwave panicking. I'm not running behind am I? The clock read _7:25am. _What on earth? They normally didn't come until seven forty.

I got up and walked out of the kitchen towards the window by the front door. I pulled the curtain back and looked out. Both Alice and Edward were getting out of the car, which was another strange thing since only Alice usually came up to the door to get me.

I watched as Alice opened the back passenger side door and grab a white bag from inside. Uh oh. This is not good. That better be breakfast or something school related in that bag. After Alice closed the door, both her and Edward made there way to the front door, Alice bouncing excitedly the whole way.

I reached over and opened the door right when Alice was about to knock. She jumped startled, with her tiny fist still in the air.

"Bella! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Alice exclaimed as she raised her hand and placed it over her heart. Edward was standing behind her laughing.

"Good! Now you know what it's like when someone nearly startles you to death." I said and crossed my arms over my chest.

Alice rolled her eyes, "Bella, may we come in?"

"Well, Edward can come in." I said with a smiled. Edward smiled back and squeezed past Alice. I moved aside to let him in. Once he, was I turned back to Alice, "You on the other hand have to tell me what you have in that bag."

"I told you she wouldn't like it Alice." Edward said behind me as he wrapped his arms around me. He kissed my cheek and whispered a good morning in my ear. His velvety voice sent shivers down my spine.

"Good morning." I breathed. I heard a tiny cough and blushed as I almost forgot Alice was still standing in front of us.

"Bella, trust me. You are going to love this!" Alice said excitedly as she held up the white bag.

"Oh, and what is _this_ that I am going love?" I asked raising an eyebrow and using my hand to motion towards the bag.

"It's a new outfit for your special day today!" Alice squealed. Before I could even reacted, she shoved her way past Edward and I and moved towards the stairs.

I groaned, "Alice…"

"No Alice me Bella. You are going to go upstairs and put this on. Today, is your and Edwards first day at Forks High as an official couple!" Alice said. "Aren't you excited?"

I sighed and closed the front door. Edward chuckled as he let me go and began to walk away from me, "I will wait for you two in the kitchen."

"Traitor." I muttered. Edward just gave me a dazzling smile before disappearing into the kitchen.

Once Edward was out of site, Alice's little hand latched onto one of mine and started to pull me towards the stairs. "Come on Bella. We are going to be late if you don't go and get dressed."

"Alice, I am already dressed." I said annoyed. We reached the top of the stairs and she continued to pull me into the bedroom.

"I can see that Bella but trust me. All eyes will be on you and Edward today and I just thought that you should have something cute and fashionable to wear. Not no ratty T-shirt and jeans." Alice said as if I should know already.

When we reached my room, she closed the door and sat the bag on my bed. I just stood there, arms crossed, waiting to get this little Alice dress up session done already.

She pulled out a shirt first. It was a long sleeve white shirt that had a small black vest over it with the little buttons. She sat that on the bed and then pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans.

"I got you a long sleeve since I know how you hate your cast showing." She said as she handed it too me. "Now put this on."

"Alice…" I said a little uncomfortable.

She looked at me and rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Bella. It's not like you have something that I've never seen before, but if it makes you too uncomfortable, I will have my back turned. I have to look for those pair of flats in your closet anyway."

With that, she went over to my closet door, opened it, and began to rummage through it. I rolled my eyes and changed into the blouse quickly. I sat the T-shirt I had chosen to wear on my bed, and then changed out of my comfy jeans, into the black ones that looked nearly imposable to fit my butt into.

Once I was done, I turned to Alice who had my flats set aside, but she was till digging through my closet.

"Alice, what are you doing?" I asked as I sat on my bed to take my converse and socks off.

"What happened to that black coat that I got you?" She asked.

"Um, I think it might be in the laundry room. Why?" I asked as I got up and slipped my feet into my black flats.

"Because, I think it will go perfect with your outfit." She said as she closed the door to my closet and turned to look at me. Once she did her eyes lit up and she squealed. "See Bella! I knew that would look cute on you!"

I rolled my eyes and smiled at my excited pixy friend, "Thank you Alice. You didn't have to do this."

"Oh yes I did." Alice said and grabbed my hand. "Come on, we don't want to be late."

Once I retrieved my coat from the laundry room, we rounded up Edward and then made our way out the front door. I took my usual spot in the front passenger seat while Edward got into the drivers seat and Alice climbed into the back.

As we sped down the highway in the direction of the school, it seemed like my nerves wanted to make their appearance well known. My stomach started to get a million butterflies as my mind started to go wild. Come on Bella. Just breathe. You can do this. Edward will be by your side the whole time, well most of the time, so you won't have to worry about everyone else. Oh god. What are they going to think? Will they all laugh and ask Edward if he was going out with me as some sort of charity case? I know most of them are only talking to me because of my recent attack. They all probably felt sorry for me.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Edward's concerned voice came from beside me. I jumped a little as I noticed we were already parked in the school's parking lot. When the hell did that happen? "Bella?"

I shook my head and looked at him. "I'm…fine."

"Bella, you don't look fine." He said. "Are you nervous about today?"

I shook my head yes as I looked down at my hands. I felt guilty. What must he think?

"Bella, if you don't want anyone to know about us yet, than that's fine. We can wait." He said softly. I looked up at him. He looked a little hurt and concerned. God, I hope he doesn't think that I feel ashamed to be seen with him or anything.

"No Edward, it's okay. It's just – you know me. I get all jittery when I people stare at me." I said. "And not to mention, I become even more death prone when peoples eyes are on me. I get all…nervous."

"Bella," He chuckled. "You will be fine. Plus, I will be by your side so if you trip or anything, I will be there to catch you."

"Yeah, Bella. Don't you want everyone to know that you are with my brother?" Alice asked form the backseat.

"Well, yeah." I said. I was getting tired of hiding it from everyone.

"Well then, there you go." Alice said, "And if you don't get your butt out of this car, I will go run around campus screaming at the top of my lungs that you and my brother are dating."

I looked at her horrified, "Alice, you wouldn't dare."

"Watch me, no better yet. Listen for me." She said with a smirk and reached for the door handle.

"FINE! I will get out of the car." I said with a sigh. Both Edward and Alice started laughing. I poked Edward on his side, "Oh, I'm glad I'm the only one who finds this _not _amusing."

"Come on Bella." He said with an amused smile. "You go to admit, seeing Alice running around screaming would be a pretty funny thing to see."

I smiled and giggled as I pictured my pixie friend, "Yeah, I guess it would be funny."

"Oh, well _I'm_ glad I'm the only one who doesn't find me running around screaming amusing." Alice said with a pout. Both Edward and I laughed. Ha, serves her right.

Edward opened his door and got out. I reached for my bag and as always he was right by my door opening it within seconds. He held his hand out for me to take; I took it taking a deep breath. Well, here goes nothing.

He closed my door behind me and locked it. So far no one was really paying attention to us since this was usually our regular routine. Alice stood impatiently behind the car and was bouncing up and down in anticipation.

"Come one guys! Get your boyfriend girlfriend thing on!" Alice said.

I laughed, "boyfriend girlfriend thing on? What the hell is that?"

"I think she means this." Edward said with a chuckle as he took his arm and wrapped it securely around my shoulder. Alice smiled brightly at him and began leading the way to the entrance of the school.

As we made it closer to the entrance, I noticed people doing double takes of us. Some would turn and point at us while whispering to one another. Edward pulled me tighter against him and I looked up to notice he was smiling. He looked down at me and his smile got even bigger causing the current red glow on my pale cheeks to glow almost as bright as Rudolph's nose.

"Are you doing all right Bella?" He asked.

"I am actually. It's just a little awkward having everyone stare, but you would think I would be use to it by now." I said with a smile.

Edward chuckled and kissed my cheek causing an uproar of gasps. I didn't let it get to me and I didn't even look at the people around me. I just continued walking next to my boyfriend with my friend leading the way down the hall to meet up with everyone else.

All through my morning classes, I had people ask if Edward and I were together. Or, I would just hear them whispering to one another. I felt like yelling at them, 'Yes! We are tighter!' So they would all shut up.

Eli and I were leaving Art class, heading towards the cafeteria. Eli was another version of Alice, but at least she was calmer. She kept sneaking me looks throughout class, all the while wearing that annoying knowing smile of hers.

"So…Bella. How's the non single life treating you?" She asked and nudged my arm.

"My non single life?" I giggled. "Well, I'm loving every single second I get to spend with Edward so I would have to say I'm not missing it at all."

"Good. Cause you two look absolutely adorable together. I am so glad you are here Bella. Not only because I now have a friend to escape with whenever Alice goes wild, but because you are with a guy who really deserves someone like you." Eli said with a smile. This time, it was a sincere.

"Thank you Eli. I'm glad I came here too. I really thought I would be calling my mom after the first week telling her that I want to move to Florida with her. But now, I can't picture myself anywhere else but here. With Charlie, you, Alice, and especially Edward." I said.

"Aw, well don't I feel special?" Eli said as she gave me a side hug.

"You wouldn't be happening to be trying to steel my girlfriend away from me, would you Eli?" I heard Edward's velvet voice say. I looked up to see him walking towards us with a big grin.

"Oh, you better know it!" She said as she put her arm around my shoulder. "Bella is too good of a girl for you. And you know, I technically should be the one to have her since I befriended her first."

"Well, I kissed her first." Edward said with a smirk as he crossed his arms. Eli looked at me while I looked at her. Oh god, she's not…

"Okay, you got me there." She said and I was relieved as she unwrapped her arm and pushed me lightly towards Edward. Edward's arm immediately replaced hers. "Sorry Bella, I just don't swing that way."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh no, you don't swing that way but yet you were going to steel me away from him? And what was it you were planning on doing with me?"

Eli laughed, "Oh you know. The usual. Tie you up and make you my personal slave."

I looked at her shocked and both Edward and Eli were laughing at my expression.

"I'm just messing with you Bella. Now come on, I'm starving!" She said as she turned around and walked into the direction of the cafeteria.

Some of us were seated at our usual table. Alice and Jasper were still in the lunch line. Edward sat next to me and held my left hand under the table so I could use my right one to eat. How he could use his left and not spill anything on him is beyond me.

"Edward…can I have a word with you?" I heard a sickly sweat voice say from behind us. We both slowly turned around to see Tanya standing there with her hands on her hips and glaring daggers at us both. When she saw me looking, her glare intensified. "Please."

"Tanya, you and I have nothing to talk about." Edward said next to me in a calm voice, though I could tell he was struggling to keep it that way.

"Edward, I think you and I have a lot to talk about. Like for one, why are you doing this to yourself. You know you are only using…"She turned her glare at me, "…_her_ to get back at me."

"Excuse me?" Edward asked angrily. "The only one I was using Tanya was you."

"Don't kid yourself Edward. You know you will be coming back to me the moment you realize that she isn't good enough for someone like you." She said and then turned to me. "I mean look at her. She's a poor excuse for a EEEEEEK!"

Tanya was suddenly covered with a wet substance that began to leak from the top of her head and down. Edward and I looked at each shocked while the whole cafeteria erupted in laughter.

"Oh my, I am soooo sorry Tanya. I didn't see a giant bimbo with a repulsive sense of style and fake hair extensions standing right here." I heard Alice's bell like voice say from behind her.

Tanya's shocked expression turned livid instantly. She slowly moved to the side and turned around. Alice was standing there with an innocent expression on her face while holding an empty cup. Jasper was standing not too far away with a tray of food and by the looks of it he was trying hard not to drop it from shaking with laughter.

"Oh…you…. you're so…."Tanya stuttered out which caused everyone to laugh harder. "You are sooo going to regret that!"

"Mmm…nope. I don't think I will." Alice sweetly and then walked around her to take the empty seat next to Eli. Jasper came over and placed the tray on the table; probably thankful he didn't have to worry about dropping it.

"You little…. ugh!" Tanya said with a huff before stomping her foot like a little child and then stormed away towards one of the exits. The want to be Barbie's soon followed after her.

All of us looked at each other for a second and then burst out into laughter again.

"Wait to go sis!" Emmett said as he held up his giant had to give her a high five.

"Why thank you big brother." She said with a smile.

"Oh my, Alice. That was the funniest thing I have ever seen! Thank you." I said as I wiped tears away from my eyes.

"No problem Bella. Did you think I was going to let that witch talk to my friend and brother like that? No sir." She said as she took a sip of water.

For the rest of the day, it seemed like the attention was off of Edward and I as everyone was talking about what Alice had done to Tanya. I was definitely thankful for that and I knew Alice was relishing in all of the attention, which she deserved. I don't think anyone has stood up to Tanya like that so I'm sure this is going to be going down in the history books. But, one thing I definitely learned today is to never ever piss off Alice.

**AN: Holy Edward! *Wipes off brow* I finally got that finished! Now, I know I said that Bella would be going to the Cullen home for the first time in this chapter, but as you can see, I got really carried away lol. So, I thought I would make the next chapter dedicated to just that :) Anyways, what did you guys think? I hope you liked it! Please let me know if I'm getting too out of hand or whatever. I know I go a little overboard sometimes but I want to make sure you guys like it when I do. Lol. Well, next chapter as I said, will be all about Bella going to the Cullen's for the first time, I promise :)**

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! :D


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: First of all, I just want to thank my amazing most wonderful most awesome most magnificent reviewers. You guys are all awesome! I love you all and you deserve more than just Emmett bear hugs, from now on you will receive both Emmett and Edward hugs!!! And, if you leave me extra awesome reviews, then I might even get Edward to do a little bit more ;) lol but, only if I get my reviews. :)**

**Anyways, so…this chapter will be all about Bella going to the Cullen's house for the first time! I hope you all enjoy it and please tell me what you think when you are done :D Well, here ya all go…enjoy!!**

Ch. 13

The rest of the week seemed to fly by and I was already getting prepared to go to Edward's for the first time. Well, I've been preparing all week actually but now that it's finally Saturday morning, I feel like I needed even more time to prepare. This felt worse than when I was fretting about telling Charlie about us. Edward kept reassuring me though that everything would be okay and that Carlisle and Esme have been dying to meet me. Carlisle wanted to see me when I wasn't actually lying in a hospital bed for once. But, I still could not get my nerves and anxiety to settle.

During the school week, people were still coming up to me, asking if Edward and I were together. I swear, you would think that after, oh I don't know how many _days_ they would finally figure out that we were together by now. The attention that Edward and I received when they all found out that we were together though, seemed to disciple within the week. Especially, because of Alice's little stunt that she pulled on Tanya. Which, was the best thing I have ever seen happen at that school so far. Tanya was so humiliated about what happened, she didn't show up to school for two days. But, after that second day sadly, she returned. People would not let her forget what had happened though.

Right now, I am standing here staring at my bed, which had two different outfits on it. One was a red button up silk blouse with a black skirt. The other was a blue button up blouse with a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. Oh my, fashion is definitely not my forte. What on earth should I wear? What _do_ you wear when you meet you're boyfriends parent's for the first time? Well, technically I've met Carlisle, but it wasn't exactly a good first impression lying in a hospital bed spacing out. But, do I go classy with the silk blouse and skirt, if that's what you even call classy? Or do I go casual with the other blouse and jeans? What to wear…. what to wear…Ugh! I am going to go insane just figure out what the heck to wear!

I began to pace my room trying to picture myself in both outfits when an idea hit me. I went over to my nightstand and grabbed my cell phone. I looked for the name I wanted and clicked on the send button.

I waited as a little automatic voice person came onto the line telling me to wait as my party was being reached. Then a little melody began to play and I recognized it as a song from Rihanna. I was actually finding myself nodding my head to the beat when my savior finally answered.

"Hey Bella! What's up? Are you coming over soon? When are you coming over? Esme said that we could have a movie night so I thought I would invite everyone else over later too! What do you think?" Alice said in one breath. Whoa…okay, I think I caught a few words out of there.

"Um, Alice…all's I heard was when are you coming over and what do you think?" I said slowly, hoping she would get why I did.

"Bella! Why weren't you listening to me? I _said, _that Esme told me it was all right to have a movie night so I thought I would invite everyone else." She said in an annoyed tone. Sorry Alice, but I do not speak hyper.

"Oh, well, I will be over when I am finished getting ready and when Edward arrives to pick me up. Also, I think the movie idea sounds fun." I said as I plopped down in my computer chair.

"Ok, cool! Jasper and I will go out and get a bunch of junk food and rent some movies." Alice said excitedly.

"All right. Hey, um…Alice? I was wondering if I could ask you something?" I asked hesitantly.

"Sure Bella. I'm all ears!" She said.

"Well, I can't decide exactly what to wear. I was debating on a silk red blouse with a black skirt, or a blue blouse with dark blue skinny jeans. What do you think?" I asked and bit my lip as I waited for her to answer.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Never have I ever seen the day that miss Isabella Swan would be asking me for fashion advice. Oh wow, I think I'm gonna need a moment here." Alice said. I rolled my eyes picturing the grin that she probably had.

"Alice…"

"Okay, okay. Hmm…you know what? Does your phone have picture messaging?" She asked.

"Um…Yeah. Why?" I asked a little suspicious.

"Well, I want you to take a picture of the outfits so I can actually see them and tell you which one to wear or neither." She said in a 'duh' like voice.

"Oh, okay. Um, are you going to call me after?" I asked.

"Mmm…I'll probably just text you since I have unlimited." She said. "So hurry up and send them to me so you can get dressed and Edward can go and get you already!"

I giggled, "All right Alice. See you in a little bit."

"Yep yep! Bye Bella!" Alice said and then hung up. I ended our call and pushed the camera icon. Once that was up, I took two separate pictures of the outfits, and then sent them both to Alice. I only had to wait a minute until my phone started to vibrate letting me know I had a new text message. It said it was from Alice so I automatically opened it.

_I say, go casual with the cute blue blouse and jeans! And, wear a pair of those new blue flats that I got you! They would go perfectly with it. Now, get that outfit on! I'm sending Edward over right now so you can get your butt over here! Love ya! _

I smiled and replied quickly:

_Thanks so much Alice! You are a fashion lifesaver! _

I was beginning to change into the blouse when my phone vibrated again. I looked and noticed it was from Alice.

_Oh you bet I am! Now hurry up! Edward is already out the door!_

I smiled and threw my phone down on my bed while I changed into the rest of the outfit. Once I wad done, I went to my closet and dug around for the shoes that Alice was talking about. Jeez, I swear. Ever since Alice got a hold of my closet, it seems like I can't even move a single thing around in here! It is filled to the brim with cloths!

After I finally found the pair I was looking for, I slipped them on my feet and rushed over to my bed. I grabbed my phone and put it in my pocket and then headed to the bathroom. I brushed through my hair a bit, and decided to just leave it down since there probably wasn't much time to do anything else with it. I took a few seconds to look at myself in the mirror. It seems like I've been doing this a lot lately. I remember when I didn't give a rat's patuty what I looked like. Well, I wasn't exactly trying to impress my boyfriend's parents before either. Oh god, that reminds me. Wait to go Bella. You were finally starting to calm down and now, you're a nervous mess again!

I walked out of the bathroom and to my room again. I looked around it wondering why I walked in here in the first place and then headed down stairs. Charlie was already gone for the day. He ended up going fishing with some of his friends from work. I walked over to the couch and plopped down on it. Okay, Edward is going to be here any minute now. Any minute and then, we are off to his house. Oh god. My stomach began to feel queasy even though I had nothing in it. I stood up and began to pace the living room, trying to get rid of the feeling in my stomach and to calm my nerves.

It sure didn't stop my brain from working though as my thoughts went haywire. Was this how Edward felt before he came over last Sunday? Was he _this_ nervous? Oh my, what if Esme doesn't approve of me? What if Carlisle decides he rather not see me in his house or even his hospital? What if I don't fit in with them? Knowing me I will say or do something really stupid, which will cause them to believe that their son is dating a complete imbecile. What if…

My wild thoughts were cut off by the sound of knocking at the door. My heart began to race as I walked over slowly towards the front door, and pulled it open. Edward stood on the porch, smiling his dazzling smile and looking gorgeous as usual.

"Morning Bella." He said as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Morning" I said softly and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"How did you sleep last night?" He asked.

"Oh, well. I slept okay I guess." I said as I looked down and played with the collar of his white shirt.

"Bella, you still aren't worried about today are you?" he asked.

"Yes." I said, still not looking up.

I felt his warm fingers wrap around my chin lightly and pulled my face up to meet his eyes. "Bella, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Esme is going to love you and I _know_ she will. Plus, you have already met Carlisle before, so you shouldn't be nervous about him either. He thinks you're great Bella and he's glad that I have someone like you in my life. _I'm_ glad that I have someone like you in my life. So please Bella, just breathe and calm down. I promise you everything will be all right."

I did as he said; I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, willing myself to relax. When I felt myself starting to calm, I opened my eyes and let out the breath I was holding. Edward's eyes were staring at me with concern.

"Better?" He asked, with a hint of a smile on his lips.

"A little." I said with a smile.

"Well, at least you're better." He said with a chuckle and then kissed my lips softly. When he pulled away, I still had my eyes closed trying to savor the little kiss.

"Bella?" He called. I opened my eyes to see him smiling crookedly at me, clearly amused by my action. "Did you have breakfast yet?"

Breakfast? Why on earth was he asking about breakfast? "Um, no…I haven't."

"Good. I was hoping I would get to take you out to breakfast before we head to my house. If that's okay with you of course." He said as he pulled away.

"Sure, that sounds good." I said. Since Edward used his little calming effect on me, I was starting to get a little hungry. "Let me just go grab my coat and then we can go."

He nodded his head and I turned around to grab my coat off of the couch. I shrugged it on and then grabbed my keys from the kitchen. After I was sure I grabbed everything I needed and all the appliances and lights were off, I made my way back to the front door where Edward was waiting.

When I returned, Edward gave me a smile and waited for me to close and lock the front door.

"Where's Charlie?" Edward asked me as we walked over to his Volvo.

"He's out fishing with some of his friends from the station." I said as Edward opened my door. I slipped into the passenger seat and once I was settled, Edward closed the door and walked over to his side, sliding in.

"That sounds fun. And Charlie is ok with you coming over right?" He asked as he started the engine.

I rolled my eyes, "Edward, you asked him if I could go yourself."

"I know. I was just making sure though Bella. I don't want you to get into trouble. What would I do with myself if my girlfriend was grounded?" Edward asked with a slight hurt expression. I laughed at his attempt to make me feel guilty and he grinned when he realized he wasn't fooling me.

"So, where are we going?" I asked as he pulled away from my house and down my street.

"Oh, there's this little diner on the way. They have really good breakfast there." He said, keeping his eyes on the rode. He knew how much it irritated me when he would stare at me instead of keeping our safety in mind.

A few minutes later, we arrived at a small restaurant called _Sully's Diner_. Edward pulled into an empty parking spot, next to the only car that was parked out front. He then opened his door and walked over to my side, holding my door open for me as I got out. Once Edward closed the door, he wrapped an arm around my waist and we began to walk to the front door. Once we got inside, we made our way over to the hostess who was too busy filing her nails to notice that two customers just walked inside.

"Excuse me?" Edward asked after clearing his throat. The hostess, who's nametag read _Tammy,_ jumped a little and looked up. She immediately looked at Edward and her eyes almost seemed to glaze over while she smiled a toothy grin at him. Oh god, I hope I don't look like that when I look at him.

"Hi there Edward. Can I help you?" She asked in what I guessed was suppose to be a seductive voice but sounded more like a cat getting strangled if you asked me.

"Can we get a table for two please?" He asked. She looked over at me, seemingly to see me standing next to him for the first time. Oh, what? You didn't notice the girl that he had his arm wrapped around? Wait to go!

"Oh, okay. Follow me." She said in the same sickly voice. She grabbed two menus and led us over to an empty booth next to a window. "Here you go."

"Thank you" Edward said kindly as we took our seats opposite from each other. The waitress had her back turned away from me while she kept her front towards Edward.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" The waitress asked. Well, just asked Edward.

"Uh, I'll have a class of orange juice. What about you Bella?" Edward asked. I looked at him and saw he looked amused about something.

I glared at him and then turned it to the back of the hostess who was still not looking at me. "I'll have a class of milk please."

"Okay, One glass of orange juice…" She said and I saw her smile at Edward while she paused. "…And a glass of milk coming right up."

She then walked away from our table and I've never been happier. She's lucky I didn't have my milk already or else I would have pulled an Alice.

"Are you okay Bella?" Edward asked with a chuckle. I looked up at him and saw that same amused expression.

"Yes, I am fine. Why do you ask?" I said as I grabbed my menu and looked at the breakfast section.

"No reason." He said with another chuckle as he picked up his menu.

"Okay, so who ordered the milk and who ordered the juice?" A male voice asked. I looked up to see a tall boy about our age with short black hair and blue eyes. I blushed when I realized he was looking directly at me, smiling.

"I ordered the juice." Edward's voice said. I looked up to see him glaring daggers at the back of the waiter's head.

"Okay." He said and placed Edward's juice in front of him. "Then this milk must belong to the beautiful girl sitting here."

I blushed even more as he sat the milk down in front of me and I stuttered out a thank you.

"My name is Dan and I'll be your waiter. So, are you ready to order?" He asked me as he whipped out a pad and pen from his pocket.

I looked over at Edward who was still glaring daggers at the poor waiter. Oh, I see what's going on here. Well, two can play at this game. "Edward, are you ready to order?"

He snapped his head in my direction and when he saw the look on my face, he glared even more. "Yes."

"Okay, I will have the three cheese omelet." I said as I pointed to the picture on the menu. Dan smiled and looked over my shoulder to see the picture I was pointing at. I was nearly startled when I thought I heard a growl come from Edward's direction. And if Dan heard it, he sure wasn't paying attention to it. "Oh, and can I get it with sausage instead of bacon?"

"Sure thing darling." He said with a smile. I saw Edward's hands fist into tight balls out of the corner of my eye. "And for you sir?"

"I'll have the same except I want both bacon and sausage." Edward said in an irritated tone.

"Okay, I'll be back once your order is ready." Dan said as he took our menus and gave me one last smile with a wink before turning around and leaving Edward and I alone.

I looked over at Edward who was staring out the window with a frown. Gosh, why does he make me feel so guilty when he looks like that? I was just trying to get back at him for how he was acting when I was mad about the hostess practically drooling on him.

"Edward? Are you all right?" I asked softly, afraid that he was mad at me.

He turned his head back at me and his face immediately softened. He reached out and grabbed my hand that was sitting on top of the table. "I am fine Bella."

"Are you sure? Maybe we can get the order to go or…"

"No, Bella. I am fine." He said as he began to use his thumb to draw slow lazy circles on my palm.

"So…how many times have you been here?" I asked, trying to get him talking again and also remembering how the hostess new his name.

"Quite a few times. It's the closest diner to the house so when we want something quick and simple, then we usual come here." He said with a smile, his mood seemingly to lighten a bit which made me smile.

"Oh. So, how much farther do we have to go to get to your house?" I asked as I bit my lip. I wanted to know how much time I had to prepare for my doom.

"Well, it's just down the highway so I would say about three minutes." He said. He brought his other hand up and ran a finger gently over my bottom lip, releasing it from the death grip of my teeth. "Don't worry Bella. You're going to be fine. Plus, I heard Alice was planning on inviting everyone else over later so that should be fun."

"Yeah, she told me this morning about that. She seemed pretty excited about it, but then again when isn't she?" I asked.

He chuckled, "You're right about that. I swear that girl can get excited over the littlest things. But, I guess that's what makes Alice – Alice."

We heard someone clear there throat next to us and we both turned to see the waiter standing there, holding our order. I was about to pull my hand away from Edwards when I felt him tighten his hold on me.

"Okay…I have two, three cheese omelets here. One with just sausage and the other with both." Dan said as he sat the plates down in front of us. I noticed he wasn't all Mr. Smiley like before. He must have noticed our entwined hands and the look that Edward was giving him.

"Thank you." I said politely, and then Dan walked away without another word. Once he was out of site, Edward let go of my hand and began to eat.

We sat in a comfortable silence as we ate our breakfast. The waiter only bothered us one other time, and that was only to refill my glass of milk. When I was full, I pushed aside my plate and looked out the window. I groaned when I started to see heavy drops of water start to paint the sidewalk and parking lot.

"What is it?" Edward asked as he took a sip of his juice and looked out the window like I was. He then let out a small, "Oh"

"Yep. It's starting to rain. As usual." I said with a sigh.

"Well, I'm finished. Should we head out before it starts to get worse?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." I said as I gathered up my coat and shrugged it back on my shoulders. Edward did the same as he took out his wallet and flagged down one of the waiters to bring our check. I got up as we waited for him to come back and once he did, Edward placed some money and the bill on the table.

"Ready?" He asked as he smiled crookedly at me.

"Yep." I said and started to head for the door. Edward walked up next to me and wrapped his arm possessively around my waist. When we got to the front of the restaurant, the hostess was still standing there and said goodbye to Edward. I smiled, as Edward just hugged me closer to him without looking her way or saying a word. Once outside, we rushed over to Edward's car and got in quickly. Soon, Edward pulled out of the parking lot and sped down the highway.

A couple minutes later, we started slowing down on the highway and Edward pulled down a hidden driveway. If Edward hadn't slowed down or even turned down it, I probably would not have even seen that it was there. The driveway seemed to go on for miles, but it was probably only a minute until I finally saw a structure come into view. And the structure was _huge_! Were the Cullen's secretly millionaires or what?

Edward pulled up to the garage of the giant mansion like house. I didn't even wait for Edward to get out of the car. I unbuckled my seat belt and was out as soon as the car came to a stop. My mouth dropped in awe as I stared at the house in front of me. A forest of tall trees surrounded the whole house and the actual house was pillared off of the ground with a four-car garage on the bottom. The house looked like a giant wood cabin and but mostly made of windows rather than wood. From what I could tell, it had three floors and was taller than any building I have seen in Forks, well other than the hospital.

"Would you actually like to go inside of the house or stare at the outside of it all day?" I jumped and Edward chuckled.

"This is where you live?" I asked still staring at the beautiful house, I mean mansion, in awe.

"Uh - the last time I checked I did." Edward said with another chuckle. "Now lets go before Alice catches us out here and yanks you inside herself."

I shivered as I imagined Alice walking out here jumping, bouncing, squealing, yelling, bouncing some more, and dragging me inside the house while talking a hundred miles per minute.

Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulder and closed the door of the car that I was currently using for support. He then led me around the garage towards what I assumed was the front of the house. There were several wooden steps that led to a beautiful double white French door and Edward stopped just before we began to walk up them. He turned me around to face him and when he did, I was caught off guard by the array of raw emotions that was displayed on his face.

He placed his hands gently on either side of my face and smiled, "Bella, I can't even explain how happy I am to be able to bring you here. I just wanted to let you know that I have never brought any other girl home before. That's why Esme is so anxious to meet you and I am glad that you are letting her. Trust me, everything's going to go great in there. She is going to love you, I know she will."

"You never brought home a girl before? Not even one?" I asked in disbelief. Edward began to lightly stroke my cheeks.

"No Bella, not even one. I have never found a girl important enough to me to want them to meet my family. But you Bella, you're the most important thing in my world right now and I want everyone to know that you are." Edward said passionately.

I stared at him in awe and I felt my cheeks burn crimson. How on earth did I get so lucky to find a guy like him? He's probably every girls dream so how the heck did I get him to fall for me? Me? Of all people!

"Breathe Bella…" He said with a chuckle and kissed the tip of my nose.

I let out the breath I didn't even realize I had been holding and smiled at him. "You're important to me too Edward. And if you want me to meet your family, then I would love too."

He smiled crookedly at me and leaned down to kiss my lips softly. As always, it made me swoon.

"Thank you so much Bella. Are you ready to go in?" He asked after he pulled away from me.

"Yep." I said. He grabbed my hand and we walked up the steps to the front doors. When we got to them, Edward was about to open one of the doors when we heard shuffling coming from inside. He looked at me, as if questioning if I knew what was going on and since I obviously didn't, I shrugged my shoulders.

He turned back to the door and opened it. He stepped through and led me inside but stopped to close the door. I looked around in awe for the second time that day. I could see the large living room from where I was standing. There were three couches that squared around a big screen TV. There were also a couple of recliners that were sat in between each of the love seats and the other couch. There was a giant glass window with a sliding door that I guessed led to the backyard and I noticed there were flowers almost everywhere either in vases, pictures, or centerpieces. I also noticed that the furniture, carpet, and rugs were all white, very white.

"Carlisle? Esme?" Edward called out as he re-grabbed my hand and led me further into the living room. I heard a squeal come from somewhere in the house and I turned to look at Edward who rolled is eyes and mouthed, _Alice_.

"We're in the kitchen dear!" I heard a female voice call from down one of the hallways, exactly where I heard the famous Alice squeal.

Edward led me down the hallway that the voice and Alice squeal came from. As we were walking, I looked at the wall on my side and smiled. It was covered with a bunch of family photos, mostly of Edward, Alice, and Emmett. There was also a couple with Rose and Jasper in them as well.

We came to the end of the hallway and I realized that it led to the kitchen, which was as gorgeous and beautiful as every other place I have seen so far in and outside of the house. There was a giant marble counter that had bar stools all around it. It also had a rectangular wooden table next to the giant glass window. I would have looked around more but I was caught out of my gawking reverie when someone squealed in my ear as they pulled me in a tight hug.

"Yay! You _finally_ made it! What took you guys so long, I thought Edward finally got pulled over from speeding. Oh my, imagine if it was your dad who had pulled him over. What would he think of your dear Edward then?" Alice said dramatically when she pulled away.

"Alice he didn't get pulled over. We stopped to eat breakfast first. And, if we did get pulled over, my dad wouldn't have been the one to do it because he doesn't work on weekends." I said and laughed at her expression.

"Well, you're here and that's all that counts." She said excitedly.

"Yes, and I would actually like to meet her if you don't mind Alice." I heard the woman's voice that I had heard earlier say from behind her.

Alice moved aside and a beautiful woman with wavy light brown hair came towards me. She smiled brightly at me while her blue eyes shinned with what looked like happiness. When she got closer to me, I was suddenly pulled into a light motherly hug.

"I am so delighted to finally meet you Bella." She said as she pulled away but kept her hands on either side of my arms. "I'm Esme, Edward's mother. He's told us so many wonderful things about you. And Alice certainly talks about you a lot also. I feel as if I already know you." She said kindly with a smile.

I blushed and smiled back, "Thank you. I am glad to meet you too Mrs. Cullen."

I heard Alice giggle from the bar stool she was seated on but stopped when Edward glared at her. He then turned back to me, his gorgeous smile back in place as he watched his mother and I.

"Oh please call me Esme dear. Mrs. Cullen is too formal and plus like I said, I already feel like I know you, as if you're one of my own and my children call me Esme so please, do the same." She said warmly with another smile and patted my arm.

"Okay…Esme." I said which caused her smile to get even bigger.

"Where's Carlisle?" Edward asked. Esme turned away from me to answer Edward.

"I think he's in his study. Why don't you go take Bella into the living room while I go get him." Esme said.

"Okay." He said and came over to me wrapping his arm around my waist. "Would you like anything to drink before we head in there?"

"No thank you." I said.

He then led me back down the hallway we came and into the extremely white living room, with Alice tailing behind.

Once Edward and I were seated on one of the couches, Edward turned to Alice who was making her way over to the recliner by me.

"So Alice. What was with all the racket that I heard coming to the door?" Edward asked, raising his eyebrows. Alice's smile faltered a bit, but if you weren't looking closely enough, you probably would not have noticed it.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "I didn't hear any noise. You should really get you're ears checked."

"No noise huh?" He asked and Alice shook her head. "So then you and Esme weren't spying on me?"

"Of course not Edward!" Alice exclaimed, but I could tell that she was lying. Edward was just about to say something when Carlisle came into the room.

"Bella. What a nice surprise to see you here." He said as he came over to us and sat down on one of the love seats.

"Hi Dr. Cullen." I said timidly. It was so strange to see him out of his work clothes and not in the hospital.

"Bella, you may call me Carlisle. Especially since we are no longer in the hospital." He said with a chuckle and I blushed. Oh, I bet that won't be the last time I'm going to be at that hospital.

"So Bella, how's Charlie doing?" He asked.

"He's doing good. He's out fishing today with some of his friends from the station." I said casually, playing with my hands. It was a little weird just sitting here talking to your doctor without him asking 'How are you feeling?'.

"Oh, that's good. I heard they've been having some trouble down in La Push, have they found anything new yet?" He asked, looking concerned.

"Um, all I know is that they've had a couple more break-ins and there was nothing important missing again. Charlie thinks it might be some of the kids playing some pranks but they don't know for sure yet."

"Well, I hope they figure it out soon." He said with a smile.

"Edward dear, why don't you show Bella around the house? Give her a tour?" Esme suggested as she came into the living room. She walked over to where Carlisle was sitting and put her hands on his shoulders, smiling brightly at Edward and I.

"That's a good idea. Would you like to see the rest of the house?" Edward turned to me and asked.

"Sure." I said. Edward smiled and pulled me up with him. He then took my hand and led me up the massive staircase.

We stopped on the first floor and he led me down the long hallway. Even though it was long, there were only four doors, two on each side of the hallway.

"This is Carlisle's study." Edward said as we came up to the first door on the right. He opened it and led me inside. I looked around at the rows and rows of books stacked on each wall of the massive room. There was a big mahogany desk in front of the giant window, with a cushy black computer chair behind it. The desk was neatly arranged and had what looked like medical records stacked on one of the corners of his desk.

"Sometimes Carlisle likes to bring his work home with him." Edward said as he saw me eyeing the folders.

"Oh." I said as I ran my fingers over the slick wood of the desk.

After admiring some of Carlisle's books, we left the study and headed back into the hallway.

"The rest of the rooms on this floor are pretty much Carlisle and Esme's bedroom and an exercise room." Edward said and led me back to the staircase. I stumbled on a step and nearly fell forwards when I felt a pair of arms encircle around my waist.

"Easy there Bella." Edward said with a chuckle as he steadied me. "You don't want to have to make another hospital visit do you?"

I blushed and shook my head. Edward chuckled and kissed my cheek before we began to walk back up the stairs with Edwards arm still around my waist.

"This is Emmett's room. But I warn you, be cautious because you never know what's hiding in here." Edward said as he opened the first door on the right side. I looked in it and gasped. There were clothes, books, papers, CD's and other things pilled on the green carpet inside. The bed, looked like someone just rolled out of it with its dark green covers and sheets halfway on the bed and halfway on the floor. There were posters of football players and sports illustrated models posted on the white walls and only one picture frame on the wall which had a picture of Emmett and Rose. I didn't even bother walking into the room since you'd probably have to find a clear path through all of the clutter.

"Oh my, it looks like a tornado came through here." I said with my eyes wide as I stared at what was supposed to be a bedroom.

Edward laughed, "Yeah. Very rarely will you see Emmett's room look actually livable. But that's only when Esme gets on his case and doesn't let Rose come over until it is cleaned."

"Wow. Rosalie actually comes in here?" I asked, still looking at the mountains of clutter.

"Not unless it's clean. She actually sides with Esme when it comes time for Emmett to clean it." He said.

"Well, I wouldn't blame her." I said. Edward laughed again and shut the door before we moved on to the next room. Before Edward could say what room it was, the door swung open revealing a bouncing Alice.

"Bella! Come in and see my room!" She said excitedly as she grabbed my hand, pulled me in and then slammed the door in Edwards's surprised face.

"Sorry Eddie. This is a private tour only." She said through the door. I heard Edward groan and I could just picture him pinching the brim of his nose while shaking his head.

"Well, what do you think?" Alice said as she moved away from me and danced over to the middle of the room with her hands out as if to say 'Tuh Dah!'

I looked around the big room, which was neater than any room I've seen so far. There was a giant bed on the right side. It had a silky vanilla cream bed cover that had a bunch of white and cream colored rose designs. The many pillows that were displayed in a neat arrangement on top, matched the bed perfectly with its white and cream color coordination. There was also a white see through laced canopy, strung up around the bed with embroidered rose designs making it look like a beautiful brides veil. The rest of the room also matched. The plush carpet was a cream color with a couple of white fluffy rugs. There were also giant cream-colored drapes that hung above and around the giant floor to sealing window. I think this is the only room in the whole house that has drapes. There were white roses on every flat surface and I was surprised to see that they were real. There was also a body length mirror in one corner of the room and on the left side was a vanity with a comfy looking cream chair and there was make-up and hair products neatly arranged on top. The white walls had pictures of art paintings and sketchings and I assumed some of them were actually art pieces done by her self. There were also a few pictures of herself with Jasper, Emmett, Rose, Edward, and Eli.

"Well?" She asked again. I stopped looking around the beautiful room to look at the owner who was bouncing up and down in anticipation.

"I think it's very elegant. Just like most of this whole house. But, I would have to say so far your room is the most beautiful." I said and smiled at my friend who began to squeal.

"I knew you would like it. Esme helped me decorate and design it. Just like she did this whole house." She said proudly.

"Esme designed this house?" I asked, stunned. This house is definitely like one I've never seen before. It looks like it should belong to a movie star on some remote island.

"Yep. She designed the whole thing herself. She's an interior and exterior designer. She gets clients from all over to see her work and get their homes or business places designed by her." She said excitedly and grabbed my hand once again. "Now, let me show you the best part."

She walked past the bathroom door to another one that had a giant sparkling star on it. She flipped on a switch and then opened it while pulling me inside. I gasped as I looked around and noticed that I was standing inside a room-sized closet. There were clothes on racks on every wall that looked like they were style and color coordinated. Above the racks, were shelves that had accessories like belts, hats, bags, and purses. Shoes were neatly placed around the room on the floor and looked like they were also style and color coordinated. There were high heels up against one wall, flats and sandals on another, and boots and stylish looking shoes on the other.

"Alice, this looks like a whole boutique!" I said as I looked around while Alice stood there smiling.

"I know. Trust me, if I had my own house, I'd have one room the size of my own room for just clothes and another one for my shoes." She said with a bell like giggle. I looked at her like she was crazy.

"What?" She asked.

"Alice. You worry me sometimes." I said as I turned around and walked out of the room – I mean closet.

Alice just laughed as she closed the door and flicked the switch off. "Well, at least you know you can come to me and find whatever style clothes imaginable."

There was a loud knock on the door and Edwards's annoyed voice soon followed, "Alice! Can I please have my girlfriend back?"

Alice rolled her eyes, "Fine Mr. I can't be without my girlfriend for one single minute! She'll be right out!"

I laughed, "I'll see you later Alice."

"Yep, I'm going to call Jasper and everyone else in a few to let them know what's going on. Tonight is going to be so much fun!" She squealed and clasped her hands together.

"All right Alice." I said and opened the door. Edward was leaning on the wall a crossed from it and smiled his crooked grin once he saw me. I shut the door behind me, smiling back.

"Alice didn't torture you in there did she?" He joked.

"No." I said. "She just gave me the tour of her room and her own personal boutique."

"Well, now it's time for my personal tour of my room." He said as he grabbed my hand and led me to the last room on the left side. He opened the door and pulled me along with him, shutting the door behind us.

I looked around and noticed that unlike Emmett and Alice's room, his room had two ceiling to floor windows since it was a corner one. He had a large bed up against one of the walls on the left side of the room. It had a golden bed cover with white pillows and one small gold one in the center. The headboard was a dark mahogany color that had intricate designs carved into it. The carpet was a topaz golden color with specks of white and black. Over by one of the windows, was a black leather couch with gold pillows on it. I turned around and noticed that the wall by the door was covered with CDs. There had to be about a thousand of them! Maybe even more!

"Holy crow, that's a lot of CD's." I said as I stared at the library of music in awe.

Edward chuckled, "Like Alice gets carried away with clothes, I get carried away with music."

"I can see that." I said as I walked over to the wall of CD's and began to look at them. I couldn't believe that I recognized almost all of them. "You have a good collection."

"Thank you." Edward said from behind me. He just stood there watching me as I looked at most of the tittles of his CD's. I came up to the last stack when I noticed that they were burned CD's. I pulled one out and read the title, _My Recordings #4: Debussy._

"What's this one?" I asked as I turned around and handed it to him. He looked down at it and smiled.

"This is some recordings that I did of myself playing some work by Debussy._ Clair De Lune_ is on here." He said. Wait minute, recordings that he does himself? Does that mean…

"So, you play the piano?" I asked. Oh my, that probably sounded so stupid right now.

"Yes I do." He said as he began to walk over to put the CD back.

"Wait." I said. He stopped and turned around and I hesitantly asked, "Can we listen to it?"

"Sure, if you want to." He said.

"Yes, I want to." He smiled and walked over to his stereo and placed the CD inside. While he was getting it set up to play, I walked over to his couch and sat down. Soon, the room was filled with a beautiful melody and Edward came and sat down beside me. I listened to the music for a while. It was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't believe Edward didn't tell me he could play.

"This is really good. How come you never told me you played?" I asked. He took one of my hands and began to rub soft soothing circles in the center of my palm.

"I don't know. It's just something I don't tell a lot of people." He said as he stared down at our hands. "The only ones who know that I can play are my family, Jasper, Rose, Eli, Brandon, and now you."

"Why? You play beautifully Edward. This should be something you would want to tell people. You have an amazing talent and I bet people love what you play." I said as I turned my body more to face him and he did the same.

"I don't know." He said as he looked up at me. I almost gasped when I realized he was blushing. Edward Cullen blushing? Oh my, I made Edward blush? Holy crow alert the media! "What are you thinking?"

I snapped my eyes back to him and noticed he was staring at me in question with a slight grin on his face.

"Oh, nothing. Just that I noticed you are actually blushing." I said with a smug smile.

"What? Am I not allowed to blush?" He asked, raising one of his eyebrows making his face look adorable.

"I'm not saying you are not allowed to. It's just, I don't think I have ever seen you blush before." I said.

"Well, it isn't my fault that I don't blush at every little thing like you do." He said, and chuckled at my glare. "I bet I can make you blush by just staring at you."

I looked at him, this time with my eyebrow raised. Well, he can make me blush by just looking a me. But what look is he panning on using?

That's when I mentally slapped myself for thinking that question. Edward turned his body so he was facing mine more, while his eyes never left my face. I looked at his eyes and noticed how intense he was staring at me. As soon as he caught my eyes, his green eyes bore into mine, locking me there in their powerful gaze. Suddenly, his eyes shown passion, pure passion as he gazed at me while his hand still rubbed circles in my palm. His gaze made me want to leap at him from where I was sitting and lock something other than our eyes. And I knew if he didn't break his gaze soon, he was going to be smothered by my lips. I felt my cheeks start to warm and saw a grin appear on his face. I jumped up from my seat, breaking our eye contact and walked over to his bed trying to catch my breath.

"Okay, you win." I said breathlessly. I turned around and plopped down on his bed. I looked over at Edward and was shocked to see him with his face in his hands and his shoulders shaking. What the? Did I make him cry? Why was he crying?

"Edward…" I began as I stood up. But, I was cut off by him taking his hands away form his face and then letting out a loud laugh. He was laughing?

"You should…you should have seen your face!" He said while still laughing. I looked at him shocked. Why was he laughing at me? I huffed and plopped back down on the bed with my arms crossed while I stared out the window, waiting for his hysteric laughter to end.

"Sorry. It was just too comical. But, I told you I could make you blush by just staring at you." He said smugly. I felt the bed weigh down slightly on the other side of me. "Bella, you aren't mad are you?"

I turned and looked at Edward to glare at him, but it immediately softened when I saw the worried expression on his face.

"No Edward. I'm not mad. I just hate how you effect me sometimes." I said as I unfolded my arms and clasped my hands together on my lap.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he scooted closer to me.

"I don't know. You just have this effect on me. Like how you just looked at me right now, I almost lost control of myself. Sometimes you make me feel like I'm falling apart. By just one look you give me, I can feel so weak and strong at the same time. And when I look at you, I notice I don't effect you in anyway." I said as I stared down at my hands. I suddenly felt Edward clasp his fingers around my chin to pull my eyes up to meet his blazing ones.

"Isabella. You have no idea how much you effect me. When I look into your eyes, I get scared sometimes because I feel like yours can read every single thing that's inside of me. When you smile, I feel like I could melt. When you laugh, I feel like I am in the presence of an angel. When you cry, I feel like tearing my heart out because I never like seeing such a beautiful angel like you cry. And when you blush, God I love it when you blush. Especially when it's because of me. I can't help but feel amazed that I am the one to make such a beautiful thing happen." He said as he stroked my cheek lightly. Of course, I blushed once again, but I smiled when Edward grinned crookedly "See. Beautiful."

Edward and I sat on his bed talking for a while and listening to more of Edwards CD's, when I noticed a picture on his bed stand. I crawled over to it and picked it up to get a better look at it. I saw a boy; about the age of twelve with short bronze hair, a crooked smile, and green eyes staring happily back at me. I could tell immediately it was Edward. A woman with long wavy brown hair and green eyes was standing behind him and had her arms wrapped around younger Edwards shoulders. Her beautiful smile was displayed across her angelic face as she gazed down lovingly at Edward. A man stood to the right of them with his arm around the woman. He also had short bronze hair that was a little lighter than Edwards. His eyes were a honey brown and he was smiling crookedly at the beautiful woman next to him. I gasped when I realized that they must be his biological parents.

"That was the last group photo I took with them." Edward said from behind me. I sat up and turned back to Edward who was staring at the photo in my hands. I crawled over to him and sat back down in front of him.

"They were your parents?" I asked as I stared down at the picture.

"Yep." He said as he also stared at the photo.

"Your mother was absolutely beautiful. I can tell you have her eyes." I said with a smile and looked up to be met with the same colored eyes as the woman's. I was glad to see that he was smiling. "And, you've got most of your dads looks. Like your hair, your nose, and your smile."

"Thank you. You would have loved my mother. She's almost like Esme, the way she's caring and loving. I know my mother would have loved you the moment I introduced you two. My dad would have like you as well. Especially since you are also into literature and music. He would have sat you down and talked and talked about books and composers for hours." He said as he reached for the picture.

I smiled and handed it to him, "What were their names?"

"My father's name was Robert Anthony Masen and my mother's name was Elleanor Nadine Masen." Edward said as he stared down it.

"It must have been hard for you to adapt to Carlisle and Esme." I said as I watched him continue to stare lovingly at the picture.

"It did for a while especially since I could not get over the fact that my parent's were actually gone. But after a couple of years, I finally started to adjust." He said as he got up from the bed and walked over to his nightstand. He looked at the picture one last time before setting it down. He came back over taking his seat across from me on the bed. "Esme and Carlisle made it easy for me to adjust though. They did not pressure me to except them as my new parents and they gave me my space when I needed it."

"That's good." I said as I looked down at my hands. "I don't even want to imagine how hard it must be to go through something like that."

Edward got up from the bed and walked over to one of his windows. He placed both hands on the glass, as he stared out at the massive trees and forest surrounding the Cullen's home.

"You know, I don't think I ever told you how much I hate the rain." He said as he traced a trail of water as it ran down the window. "It's not because of how it makes this boring town even more boring, and you never really get to see the sun, but because it took them away from me."

I gulped the lump that began to form in the base of my throat. His voice sounded so broken as he stood there staring out of the window. I got up from the bed and walked up slowly behind him. I didn't know exactly what to do, but I did the first thing that came to mind. I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head down on his back as I held him from behind. I felt him lean gently into me as he took his arms and wrapped them around mine that were gently holding him in place.

"Tell me what happened." I said in a whisper. I knew they were in a car accident, but Eli didn't exactly tell me how it happened. He took a deep breath before he started.

"My mom and dad were on there way home from the movies." He began softly. "It was raining that night, like most nights here, and they were driving down the highway when a car driving opposite of them, swerved out of there lane and crashed into their car. My parent's car lost control and slammed into the railing of the Hood Canal Bridge. It sent them over the edge and into the river below." He said and took another deep breathe before continuing.

"I was at home with my next door neighbor when we got the call. It was really late and we were starting to worry so I figured it was my mom calling to tell us that they would be home soon. But when my neighbor came into the room with tears in her eyes, I knew something bad had happened to them. I just got up, grabbed my coat, and headed out the door with her and she drove me to the hospital. Carlisle was the first person to great me and tell me what had happened. That the other driver's car lost control because of the rain and my dad couldn't gain control of theirs because of it also. After my parent's had finally passed, I learned that the other driver survived. I was so mad at the time that I almost went into his hospital room and suffocated him with his pillow. But, I started to realize that it wasn't his fault. That could have been anyone, hell that could have been _my _parents that lost control of their car and crashed into someone else killing them instead. So, I went to his room, not to kill him, but to say that I wasn't mad and that I held no grudge against him."

"Oh my…I am so sorry Edward." I said softly as I held him tighter. I felt tears well up in my eyes and threaten to fall over as I pictured what Edward had just told me. I couldn't believe that something so horrible could happen to someone like him. Why did bad things always have to happen to good people? Edward did not deserve this one bit, no one did. I can't even imagine what would happen if I ever lost Renee or Charlie. I don't think I could just sit around with people I didn't know, acting like they were my family and things were going to be fine. But, this just shows how strong Edward is. How caring he can be towards others, even though his first thoughts meant to kill them, but I don't think I could have gone to the guy who killed my parent's and told him that I forgave him. I don't think I could even face him.

"It's okay Bella." He said as he turned his self around in my arms. "I am thankful that I had someone like Carlisle to be there for me. He really made there passing a lot easier than if I had to do it all alone. And once he and Esme took me in, I began to see how much they really cared for me."

"I am glad that you had someone like Carlisle there with you too. I am sure I wouldn't be looking at the same Edward as I am right now." I said. He smiled and put his arms around my waist, pulling me into an affectionate hug.

"Thank you Bella." He whispered in my ear.

"For what?" I asked confused. What on earth did I do?

"Thank you for listening to me. You are the first person I've told about what happened to my parent's and you listened to me without looking at me with pity in your eyes. Everywhere I go I still get pitied looks from people who know what happen. And most who do know, only know from others who have heard from Carlisle and Esme. Brandon, Eli, Jasper, and Rose all know because of Emmett and Alice. They don't look at me like that often, but I can still see it in their eyes sometimes when they don't realize that they are doing it." He said. He pulled away slightly to look at my face. "But what I see in your eyes, is completely different from everyone else I know."

"Oh, and what do you see in my eyes?" I asked as I looked up at his sparkling green ones. He smiled crookedly down at me as he took his hands and cupped my face gently.

"I think you have to figure that out on your own." He said and leaned down to kiss my cheek. Okay, I am confused. What did he mean by that?

"Why can't you tell me?" I asked when he pulled away.

"I want you to realize it on your own without me pointing it out. And when that day comes, I'll be waiting to hear it from you." He said and pulled away completely to grab my hand. I made a pouty face at both the loss of contact and him not telling me what he saw in my eyes. He chuckled, "Come on. I have one last room I would like to show you."

"Okay." I said and smiled as he began to pull me towards the door. Once we were out of his room, Edward closed the door and walked across the way to the door opposite of his. Okay, that was a short trip.

"This is the music room." He said as he opened the door. He led me in and shut it quietly behind him as I looked around the room. It was the same size and style as Edwards, except it had musical instruments. There was a black grand piano over by the far right corner of the room with a couch and a couple of chairs by it. There were also a few guitars on stands and a drum set was occupying the left corner of the room. I could also see a violin and a harp and also some equipment like amps and recorders.

"Wow, it looks like your whole family can make up your own band." I said.

Edward chuckled, "Well, we kind of already did that."

I looked at him in question and he chuckled again, "Alice plays the drums, Emmett plays the guitar, Carlisle plays the violin, and Esme plays the harp while I play the piano. We aren't that good together, we just like to have a little family bonding time and when we do, we do it through music."

I laughed as I pictured the Cullen family having a jam session together. But I realized the instruments seemed to fit each of there personas. Alice was like the drums, they both had a rhythm and beat that went to their own tune. The guitar and it's hi and lows fit Emmett and the way his personality could be so gentle yet so courageous. The way the violin could be so graceful, charming, and melodic suited Carlisle perfectly. And Esme was like a beautiful sounding harp; they were both heavenly sweet and lovely while Edward was definitely like a piano. How sweet and beautiful but yet bold and daring the composition could sound, suited Edward elegantly.

"Would you like to hear something that I wrote for my mother after she died?" He asked.

I smiled, "I would love to Edward." He smiled back and then led me over to the piano. He sat down on the bench and then pulled me down to sit next to him, letting go of my hand so he could use it to play.

I sat and watched as he placed his hands over the white keys, and then began to play a soft melodic tune. It sounded so mournful and sad, that it brought tears to my eyes. I could literally feel his sorrowful memories of his mother as he played the song that he wrote especially for her. Towards the end though, it seemed to pick up into more of a cheerful tune as I realized this must be the part where he forgave what happened to her and didn't blame anyone as he remember the good memories of her. It was just like the way he had told me about her. The way his eyes lit up when he spoke of her, and the way they darkly clouded over when he talked about the accident.

"That was lovely Edward. I am sure she would love what you have written for her." I said as I looked up at him after he had finished. He turned back to me and smiled.

"I have one more I would like to play for you that I wrote especially for you." He said as he stared deeply at me. "I began to write it when I got home that day when I first saw you at school. I just recently was able to finish it."

"You wrote something for me?" I asked, shocked. I have never had anyone write anything for me.

"Yes. Would you like to hear it?" He asked, looking at me hopeful.

"Of course." I said. He smiled and placed his hands over the keys again.

Soon, the room was filled with a haunting melody. I listened as it started off in a sort of sad disheartened tone. "This was when I thought you didn't like me when I over heard you talking to Mrs. Cope." He explained.

"And this, was when I started to realize I was falling in love you and you wanted to be with me." He said gently and I listened as the music picked up into a more lovely and fast hearted tone. I closed my eyes and let the music take over me. I felt as if I was floating from my seat as I heard the beautiful comforting sound that the angel was playing next to me. It felt and sounded like a lullaby. My own personal lullaby that was written especially for me.

As the music came to an end, I opened my eyes and felt tears slip from my eyes and slowly cascade down my cheeks. I hadn't even realized that I had been crying. I was about to reach up to wipe them away, when Edward gently took my face in his hands and tenderly wiped away the tears.

"Are you okay?" He asked in alarm. I looked up to be met by concerned green orbs.

"I'm fine Edward. Thank you, that was very beautiful." I said and smiled.

He smiled crookedly back at me, "I am glad that you like it."

He then leaned down slowly and captured my lips affectionately with his. I still don't think I will ever get over the fact that this angel, that was currently taking my breath away, actually loves me. I have to be the most luckiest girl on the planet. I didn't deserve him or is love, but I knew he really did care for me and I have never had anyone in my life care about me as much as he does. I love the way he makes me feel. I love being around him, being able to hear his voice and see his piercing green eyes looking deeply into mine. I love the way he smiled at me and how he knew I liked it. I loved the way he held me in his arms and would hum softly or whisper to me. And god did I love how he kissed me. The way he would start it out sweet but then turn it into a fiery passion made me want nothing more to be permanently glued to him. And I now knew what he was talking about seeing in my eyes that I had yet to notice. I am irrevocably falling in love with him.

**AN: Well? What did you all think? Do you think it was too soon for her to realize that she is falling in love with him or is this the perfect time? Well…let me know what you think and what you thought about the chapter. I was going to try and fit in ALL of her day at the Cullen's into one chapter, but as you can see, I got a little carried away. Lol, when don't I? Anyways, next chapter will be the rest of Bella's experience at the Cullen's. And this mostly means their movie night that Alice had planned. Well my peeps, please leave me some reviews and let me know what you thought! Hopefully I will get the next chapter up soon.**

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! :D


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: First off, I want to apologize to all my wonderful most amazing readers and reviewers, I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING FOREVER TO UPDATE! I know I am probably the worst writer right now and not keeping my readers up to date sooner, but a lot has been happening in my life right now that is totally taking over my free time to write. But, I promise that I will try my best to update sooner and keep you guy's happy  Thank you thank you thank you for all the wonderful reviews on the last chapter! I loved them all and I hope you guys are still here reading this! Well, I don't want to keep you guys from it any longer, so here you go!**

Ch. 14

"Bella? Are you alright?" Edward's concerned voice seemed to call from a distance, but he was only sitting a few centimeters away from me. We were currently sitting on his piano bench but I felt like I was sitting in an opposite universe. Oh my god, I am falling in love with Edward! It took me this long to figure that out when he himself already knew? God Bella, you are so slow.

"Bella?" He asked again, giving me a little shake. It seemed to do its job since I was now staring into the concerned green orbs of the guy that I now knew I love.

"Edward…. I…" I started to say. Edward's hands were still cupping my face gently.

"You what Bella?" He asked, still concerned. I didn't blame him though. I probably looked like a complete nutto sitting here staring off into space. I took a deep breath. I have to tell him how I feel.

"I think I…" I began when the door suddenly opened with a loud bang that caused both Edward and I to jump.

"Oh Eddykins!" Emmett's loud voice boomed through out the room. Edward let go of my face and we both turned to see Emmett standing there with a giant grin on his face. "Oops. Sorry, it looks like I interrupted your guys' make out session."

"What do you want Emmett?" Edward asked annoyed.

"Relax bro. I just came up here to tell you that mom wants you guys down stairs for lunch." He said with an innocent expression on his face.

"All right. Tell her we'll be down in a sec." Edward said with a sigh.

Emmett looked at me and smiled his giant grin, "Bel-la!" He sang out and held his arms wide open. "Don't I get a hug from my favoritest klutz?"

I looked at him and couldn't help but laugh. Emmett was just like a giant teddy bear, you couldn't help but think "awww" every time you see him.

I looked at Edward who was glaring at his brother and I knew the only way to make him go away was to give him what he wanted. So, with a sigh, I got up from the bench and walked over to Emmett who was waiting patiently with his arms still open.

"Of course my big giant teddy bear gets a hug from his favorite klutz." I said with a smile as I wrapped my arms around his giant torso. I heard his deep chuckle as he began to squeeze the life out of me.

"Aw, did you hear that Eddy? I'm Bella's teddy bear!" Emmett practically squealed out. If I wasn't being squeezed to death, I would have laughed.

Emmett finally let go of me and as soon as he did I sucked in a big breath of air.

"So, how do you like the Cullen estate?" Emmett asked as he crossed his arms over his massive chest.

"I think it's big, beautiful, and did I mention big?" I asked with a smile.

Emmett chuckled, "Yeah, it is pretty big isn't it? Well, you two best be getting your butts down stairs before Esme comes up here an catches you two." He said and then winked at me. Of course, I blushed which only caused him to chuckle again.

"We'll be right down Emmett." Edward said as he came up behind me and placed his arms around my waist. "Now if you don't mind, I would like a little more privacy with Bella please."

"All right. But don't you kids go doing anything I wouldn't do." He said as he turned around and walked out the door. Once it was closed behind him, Edward turned me around in his arms to face him.

"Bella, I know you were about to tell me something important and I am sorry Emmett came in and ruined it." He said considerately.

"It's all right Edward. It wasn't your fault." I said and gave him a small smile.

"Would you like to tell me now?" He asked, looking at me anxiously. Should I tell him now? The moment is pretty much ruined and I am sure if we don't hurry and get down stairs, Esme will send someone else up.

"Maybe later. I am sure if we don't get down there soon, Alice will be the one to come up here next." I said with a shutter. He chuckled but still looked at me with the same look.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

I gave him a small smile while I nodded my head. He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips before he unwrapped his arms from around me.

"Well, let's go see what Esme has planned for lunch." He said with a smile. He grabbed my hand and led me out of the room. But I couldn't help but notice the disappointed look on Edwards face before we headed out of the room.

Once we made our way down stairs, the aroma of food soon hit us making my stomach grumble with hunger. Wow, I hadn't even realized I was hungry.

I was expecting Edward to lead us to the kitchen but instead he led us to another room opposite of the kitchen, which I soon realized was the dinning room. It was beautiful with a giant glass rectangular table that looked to fit about eight people. There were three wooden chairs on each side and a chair at each end. Silverware, napkins, cups and plates were already set and what looked like lasagna in a dish was placed in the center. There was also a bowl of salad and others that were scattered about the table. Emmett was already sat on the left side with Alice sitting next to him on his left talking animatedly about something with Carlisle who was seated at one of the ends. Edward led me to the other side and pulled out a chair opposite of the bouncing ball of excitement. As soon as I was seated, he took his seat on the left of me, which was facing Emmett who was now trying to sneak food out of one of the bowls in front of him.

"Emmett! Get your hands out of that bowl this instant!" I heard Esme scold as she came in with a bowl of rolls in her hands.

"Sorry Esme. I can't help it when your delicious food is sitting right in front of me taunting me to eat it." He said with a sheepish grin.

"Well, you are just going to have to wait just like the rest of us." She said as she placed the rolls down and took a seat at the other end. Edward and Carlisle chuckled and I tried to hold back a giggle.

I heard Alice giggle from her seat and I looked up to see her trying to hide her face with her hands. Emmett looked at her and nudged her with his giant elbow.

"Ow! What on earth did you do that for?" Alice said as she pouted and rubbed the spot she got elbowed at. Edward and I looked at each other and smiled.

"Here we go…" He said softly, only for me to hear.

"I did that because you were laughing at me." Emmett said in a voice that made him sound like a small child. I held my breath and bit my lip to try and keep from laughing at the two.

"In case you didn't notice, I wasn't the only one laughing football head!" Alice screeched. That did it. I could not hold in my laughter any longer.

"Whatever shrimp. You were closest so I elbowed you first." Emmett said in a matter of fact tone.

"All right you two. That is enough. I don't want any of this fighting nonsense at the table, especially in front of our guest." Esme said and then looked at me and smiled, "Bella, I have no idea if you like lasagna or not but Edward told me you fix some good Italian so I hope you don't mind."

"Oh no. Not at all Esme, I love lasagna." I said blushing and smiled back at her probably looking and sounding like Garfield the cat.

"I hoped so." She said. "All right guys, dig in."

We all mostly sat in a comfortable silence eating lunch. Sometimes Esme and Carlisle would ask me questions here and there and Alice would talk about what she had planned for tonight. I guess Jasper won't be coming over until later so Edward, Emmett, and I agreed to go out with her to rent some movies and buy the junk food. When we were finished we all sat around talking some more and I laughed when I realized that Emmett had been scolded about eight times during lunch. He got scolded a couple of times for talking with his mouth full of food, one for throwing a piece of food at Alice, and a couple more for trying to play footsy with Edward and I. I was just surprised that his foot could reach all the way to where I was sitting.

"Esme, would you like help with the dishes?" I asked as we all began clearing the table and taking our plates to the kitchen to be washed.

"Oh no dear. Carlisle and I will take care of all of this. You guys should be going to get the stuff for your movie party." Esme said as she scrapped some scraps off of a plate and into the trash.

"Are you sure?" I asked standing in the middle of the kitchen playing with my hands feeling uncomfortable. I hate just sitting around doing nothing. At least let me wash one measly little dish! Please!

"Yes Bella, she is sure. Now come with me!" Alice said as she grabbed my hand and began leading me out of the kitchen. I began to panic and Edward started to follow us until Alice turned around and said, "You stay right there Mr. You can survive without her for fifteen minutes."

"Alice, what are you going to do to her?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest looking at her irritated.

"You just mind your own bees wax around here. What I do with Bella will be our business only. Well, unless you want to sit through a bunch of _girl _talk." She said with a smirk, still not letting go my hand. I was beginning to get scared. What on earth was she going to do to me?

"Okay." Edward said, looking indifferent. He began to walk towards us and Alice held her hand up.

"Edward, it will only be fifteen minutes and then we will be right back down. I just want to talk to her about something." She said looking annoyed.

"Alice…" He began but I cut him off by breaking free of Alice's hand and walking over to him.

"It's okay Edward. I will be back in fifteen minutes like she said. Why don't you go help out Carlisle and Esme?" I suggested.

"I don't know…are you sure?" He asked as he lifted one of his eyebrows.

"Yes, Edward she is sure! Now let us go so we can leave before all of our other guests arrive!" Alice exasperated.

"Okay, but if your not down in fifteen minutes, I'm coming up there and rescuing you." He said with a crooked smile that never failed to make me swoon.

I smiled back, "If she does anything, I will scream."

"And I will come as soon as I hear it." He said as he leaned down and kissed me.

"Jeez laweez! You two act like your never going to see each other again. I am only taking her up stairs to talk. Not murder her with prada!" She yelled, causing Edward and I to laugh. I gave Edward one last quick kiss before walking towards Alice. She grabbed my hand again and ran with me up the stairs. I only managed to stumble twice but thank goodness Alice didn't let me fall.

Once we made it to her room, Alice shut the door and dragged me over to her bed plopping us both down on the comfy mattress.

"So, I was thinking, maybe we should invite Mike Newton." She said excitedly. I looked at her as if she just told me Edward was gay.

"Mike Newton? Why on earth would you want to invite him for?" I asked, giving her the same look.

"Because Bella, Eli has the hugest crush on him!" She said in an exasperated tone.

"Eli? Our Eli? Eli, as in Elizabeth Perkins Eli?" I asked, with my eyes wide.

"No Eli as in the Arabic "God" Eli!" She said sarcastically. "Yes I mean our Eli!"

"Wow, I didn't even know." I said looking at the wall, trying to figure out if I even seen the slightest bit of hints of her liking him.

"That's because you are too busy glued to Edward to notice! But don't worry because we don't blame you two. You guys have to be the cutest couple ever!" She said with her famous Alice squeal.

"Well, why didn't she say anything when you guys were letting him flirt with me?" I asked, remembering the day when he first came up to me. Eli was standing right there and she didn't even seem to care, she even encouraged some of it.

"That's because she didn't realize that she liked him until a week during the time you were in the hospital." She said.

"Oh. Did she tell you?" I asked.

"No silly Bella. I can tell. Trust me, I have the couple radar up here and whenever I see when someone likes another, it goes off like crazy." She said as she tapped a finger to her head.

I laughed, "Couple radar? Alice now _that _is just silly. What if you're wrong and she doesn't like him?"

"Trust me Bella! I know these things. She may not realize it right now, but I know she totally has the hots for him and I know he's liked her since she first came to Forks." She said.

"Huh." I said, biting my lip to keep from laughing at Alice's crazy antics.

"Well?" She asked, raising her perfectly shaped eyebrows at me.

"Well what?" I asked. She looked at me as if I had spiders crawling out of my ears.

"Have you not been listening to a single word I just said?" Alice asked in a whine.

"Yes, I have." I said with a laugh. "I guess it's up to you Alice. You know, since you're the one with the "radar" and all, then maybe you should invite him."

"Okay! I will! I just wanted to let you in on my little plan here. I bet by the end of the night, those two are going to be a couple!" She squealed and got up from the bed. "Now, lets get downstairs and see what those boys are doing. We need to go out and get the stuff before everyone comes and I'll call Mike when we get back."

"All right." I said and followed suit as she made her way out of the room. I wonder if I should call Eli ahead of time and warn her about what Alice has planned. But, if Alice figures out that I told her, I will be so dead. And there is no way I want to face an angry Alice. I shivered mentally at the thought.

When we got downstairs, Emmett and Edward were in the living room playing some video game, and by the looks of it, Edward was winning.

"Quit cheating man!" Emmett bellowed.

Edward chuckled, "I'm not cheating. Just face it Emmett, you suck at this game."

"I do not! You're just a big fat cheater. I beat you at this all the time and there is no way you are going to beat me!" Emmett said as his fingers punched away at his controller.

Alice groaned, "Come on guys! We need to get going."

The boys just kept on playing, completely ignoring Alice. Alice pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. I chuckled while I shook my head and then turned back to the boys.

"Oh, you are so dead man!" Emmett yelled causing Edward to laugh. I just stood there watching in amusement. Edward looked serene and calm while he played but Emmett's face was full of concentration.

"Guys!" Alice whined while she stomped her foot, which did her no good since they were still ignoring her.

"Oh, that's it." Alice said under her breath. She looked at me, and I could tell immediately by the look on her face that she was up to something. She smiled wickedly at me and placed a finger over her lips to make sure I didn't say anything. I nodded my head and smiled back as she began to creep quietly to stand behind Emmett.

"OH MY GOD! THERE'S A SPIDER ON YOUR LEG EMMETT!" She yelled at him while pointing at his leg.

What happened next, I totally was not expecting. Emmett, screamed and I mean _screamed _like a little girl and threw his controller down and swatted at his leg.

"WHERE IS IT? ALICE GET IT OFF ME!" He screeched while he still swatted at his leg.

Alice, Edward and I were literally dying from laughter. Poor Emmett was standing up now jumping up and down brushing off his clothing, still looking for the imaginary spider.

"Sorry Emmett, I think it was just a piece of lint." Alice said, trying to sound serious.

Emmett stopped his hopping and looked at Alice as if she told him his favorite football team was going to lose the whole season. His face suddenly grew into a fierce scowl that made me shrink back a bit. Emmett was not being the cuddly teddy bear; he was being the big scary grizzly bear.

"A. Piece. Of. Lint?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"Uh Oh." I said quietly and looked at Edward who was still laughing silently. Alice's eyes went wide and she suddenly looked at the TV.

"Oh, looky here. It looks like Edward won! Time to go!" She said quickly and ran out of the room.

"You better run you little annoying pixie!" Emmett yelled. All's we heard from Alice was her squeals of laughter as she made her way upstairs.

"Well, it looks like I beat you again Emmett." Edward said after he finally contained his laughter. He got up from the couch and walked over to where I was standing, and wrapped his arms around my waist. I was still smiling and trying to get over how someone as big as Emmett could make such a girly sound.

"You only beat me because I was distracted." Emmett said and crossed his arms. "I demand a rematch and this time, we make sure the pixie stays locked up in her room."

"Oh don't be such a poop." Alice said as she came back into the living room with a designer purse slung over her shoulder. "Now lets get going so we can get everything and get ready before everyone comes."

"Fine, but we're taking my Jeep." Emmett said as he grabbed his keys from his pocket and jiggled them. "You know how much I feel like a trapped sardine in a can when we ride in Edward's precious little Volvo."

"Whatever. Lets just get a move on." Alice said rolling her eyes.

Edward grabbed my hand and followed Alice and Emmett into the kitchen and through a doorway. Once the lights were turned on, I looked around in awe at the vehicles inside the massive garage. The first car was a black Mercedes with tinted windows that reminded me a lot of those mob cars you seen on TV and in the movies. The next, was a midnight blue Land Rover and Edwards Sliver Volvo was parked to the left of it. And to the left of the Volvo was the giant gray Jeep that I first saw at the beach outing in La Push.

"Shot gun!" Alice squealed and started to make her way over to the front when Emmett stood in front of her blocking her way.

"No way little one. After what you pulled in there, you are riding in the back." He said with a serious expression and his arms crossed making him look like a bouncer at a night club.

"Emmett, you are such a sore loser. Just admit you would have lost even if I didn't 'distract' you." She said annoyed.

"I don't care. My Bella bear is riding in the front with me." He said and smiled at me.

I laughed, "Bella bear?"

"Yep." He said. "I'm your teddy bear and you're my Bella bear."

"Emmett, it's ok. Alice can ride in the front and I will sit with Edward in the back. Or, Edward can sit with you up front and I can sit in the back with Alice." I said. I can't believe we are discussing where to sit but I had to admit that I was happy with my new nickname from Emmett.

"See Emmett! Now move over and let either Edward or I sit there." Alice said aggravated. .

"No can do. The Emmett bus is not moving until Bella is in the front seat." He said and walked over to the driver's side to unlock the doors.

"Oh whatever." Alice muttered as she walked to one of the back doors and climbed in.

"Do you want to sit up front with Emmett?" I asked Edward almost hopeful. I can just picture Emmett's driving and I'd rather be in the back where I could at least hide my face from watching the highway pass by in a blur.

"It's okay Bella, you will be fine. I'll keep the pouting pixie company in the back." He said with a chuckle and kissed my cheek before walking to the other side of the Jeep.

I took a deep breath and opened the passenger door. It was still a climb to get in but at least it's not like Brandon's "Beast". Once we were all settled and buckled in, Emmett started the Jeep and opened the garage door before pulling out.

"All right Bella bear, since you are in the passengers seat, you are in control of the music." He said as he handed over his ipod.

"Um…okay." I said as I looked at his music selection. He had a bunch of artists that I haven't even heard of and realized that they must be hip-hop or rap artists.

"Any day now." Emmett said with a booming laugh.

"I have no idea. I've never heard or listened to any of these people before." I said as I scanned the list some more.

"Why don't you just put it on shuffle and we will listen to whatever comes on." Edward suggested from the back seat.

"Good idea." I said and did just that. I sat the ipod down inside the middle console and looked up which was a bad idea.

"Uh…Emmett? How fast are you going?" I asked a bit nervous trying to catch a look at the speedometer.

"I'm going as fast as my baby Jeep wants me too." He said with a giant grin. "Why? Are you scared Bella bear?"

"Well, I – no." I lied. Both Edward and Alice chuckled in the back seat.

"Good, cause I'm taking a short cut!" Emmett hollered. Suddenly, he swerved off the highway and onto a thin dirt road. Oh God, I'm going to die!

After what felt like endless torture of deadly off roading, but was really only five minutes, Emmett finally pulled back onto the highway and then into a mini mall parking lot that consisted of a grocery store, pet store, water store, and a movie rental store.

"Bella, you coming?" Edward's amused voice asked from my right side. I jumped, when the heck did he get there so fast?

"See Emmett, I should have ridden up front. You scarred poor Bella for life!" Alice said.

"I'm coming." I said as I took my hands off of the sides of the seat. I hadn't even realized I was still clutching it in my death grip. After I unclicked my seatbelt, Edward opened my door.

"Let me help you, I don't want you getting hurt since it looks like you're about to pass out." He said. And the next thing I knew, I was wrapped up in Edward's arms as he picked me up from my seat and carried me over to the sidewalk.

"All right. Lets go rent the movies first, then we can go get all the other stuff at the grocery store." Alice said as she was making her way over to the Movie Rental. Edward placed me back down on my feet, but kept his right arm possessively around my waist. I was quite glad he did, not only for the enjoyment of being in Edwards arms, but because I felt slightly shaky.

We spent almost a half an hour inside the movie rental. Emmett kept on insisting that we should rent a new children's movie about a talking dinosaur that traveled through time. Alice nearly beat him with the DVD every time he tried to sneak it in the hand basket with the others. I nearly died of laughter when he came walking up to Alice and I with a Peter Pan movie and pointed at Tinkerbell saying, "Look Alice! I found you!" Then he started running around the store clapping and chanting, "I do believe in Alice! I do! I do!"

After our hilarious adventure in the movie rental store and nearly being kicked out twice, Emmett put the five DVD's we rented in his Jeep and then we made our way over to the grocery store. Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulder when we walked by a group of ogling boys, which caused Alice to snicker, and her receiving a death glare from the both of us.

"So, what are we getting?" I asked as we made our way to a chip isle.

"Oh you know, the usual junk food." Alice said. Emmett was pushing the cart and popping every type of chip inside it.

Twenty minutes later, we were all standing in line to the check out with a cart full of junk food. We got every type of chip, soda, candy, popcorn, ice cream, and cookies imaginable.

"Oh my god. Bella you need to come with me, quick!" Alice suddenly said as she grabbed my hand and yanked me from Edward.

"Wh – Why?" I asked. She ignored me and continued pulling me.

"Alice, leave Bella alone." Edwards annoyed voice said from behind us.

"Yeah, where are you taking her?" Emmett asked curiously.

"Gosh, if you guys _must _know, I need some tampons and I was wondering which ones to choose. Unless you want Bella and I to hold our place in line and you two can go get them for me?" Alice asked irritated. The look on the guys' faces was absolutely hysterical.

"Hell no." Emmett said. Alice didn't even wait for Edward's reply, she just continued pulling me away from the line.

I noticed she kept stopping and scanning each isle and I was curious as to why she needed me to help her pick out tampons. I was just about to tell her that we passed the isle when suddenly Alice yelled out, "Mike!"

Mike Newton was standing in the canned food isle looking at an array of soups. His head snapped up the moment Alice called his name and smiled when he saw her dragging me over to where he was standing.

"Hey Alice! Hey Bella! What's up?" He asked as he put a can back on one of the shelves.

"Hey Mike! Bella and I were wondering if you would like to come over to my house tonight for a movie night?" Alice asked. Oh, _I_ was wondering if he could?

"That sounds cool. Who all's going?" He asked with his usual cheery smile.

"Oh well, the usual. Rose, Jasper, Brandon, and Eli." She said, but said Eli's name a little bit longer than she usually did.

"Eli's going to be there?" He asked with a hint of a blush. Ah ha. So Alice was right about him liking Eli. I just hope that she's right about Eli liking him.

"Of course silly!" Alice exasperated.

"Ok cool, I'll come. What time do you want me over?" he asked with a little bit more pip to his voice.

"Yay! Okay, come over around six thirty!" She said with her famous squeal.

"Okay, I will." He said.

"All right, we better get going so we will see you later!" She said and then grabbed my hand again. I waved a good bye to Mike before she spun me around and dragged me back to the check out that we came from. Emmett and Edward were standing at the front of the check out with annoyed and embarrassed looks on their faces.

"What on earth are you guys doing?" I asked. They both snapped their heads towards us as we were making our way over to them.

"It's about time! I told her to wait because you went to go get…um you know, your womanly products." Emmett said and then looked at Alice's empty hands. "Where are they?"

"I decided I didn't need them after all." She said with a smile.

"You have got to be kidding." Emmett muttered under his breath and then turned back to the check out lady. "Well, it looks like this is all we need."

We packed up all the stuff in the back of Emmett's Jeep and then everyone made their way over to the doors.

"Um, Emmett." I said hesitantly. He turned around just as he was about to unlock the doors and smiled.

"Yeah Bella?" He asked.

"Is it okay if Alice or Edward sit up front?" I asked.

He chuckled, "Did I really scare you that bad?"

"Uh…. no…. I just…." I stuttered out.

"It's okay Bella bear. They can ride up front." He said and then continued with unlocking the doors.

I sighed in relief and climbed in the back seat with Edward while Alice sat up front with Emmett.

When we finally arrived back at the Cullen's, I wasn't as much as a mess as I was when we were riding to the store. I think riding in the back helped out a lot and plus having Edward hold me in place, didn't do much harm either.

After unloading all the groceries from the Jeep, we put what needed to be put in the freezer or refrigerator away, and then made our way into the living room where Carlisle and Esme were sitting on one of the sofa's watching TV.

"How did the shopping go?" Esme asked when she saw us walk in. Edward led me over to one of the couches and sat us down, still holding my hand.

"It went all right. We got a whole bunch of food and drinks and rented about five movies." Alice said as she plopped down into a recliner and held up the bag of movies.

"That's good. I decided to treat Esme to a dinner and movie tonight while you guys have your little party. I am sure that you don't want your parent's around cramping your style." Carlisle said with a small smile.

"Ok!" Alice exclaimed excitedly.

"But don't be going over board Alice." Esme said in a warning tone. "What time are you planning on having everyone over? I heard on the news there was going to be a nasty storm tonight."

"I won't Esme, I promise." Alice said and held up her right hand in a 'scouts honor'. "And everyone should be here by six thirty. I'll call in for some pizza around seven."

"All right. But if the storm gets too out of hand, I don't want any of those kids driving home until the storm lets down." She said worriedly.

"Okay, oh! I just had the perfect thought!" She said excitedly. "Can Bella spend the night? I have clothes and everything for her!"

"Well, I don't see why not." Esme said and turned to me and smiled, "Bella is always welcomed here. But it is up to her to decide if she wants to."

"What do you say Bella? Come on it will be so much fun!" Alice squealed. Hm…do I really want to spend the night with an over excited pixie? I felt Edward squeeze my hand. Oh, but Edward will be here of course!

"Okay. I will have to call Charlie though." I said which caused Alice to squeal all over again.

"Call him now!" She said in another squeal and came over to sit next to me on the couch. I took out my cell phone from my pocket and searched for Charlie's name. Once I found it, I hit the send button.

"Hey Bells. Is everything all right?" Charlie asked after answering on the second ring.

"Yeah, everything's fine dad. How's the fishing going?"

"It's going good. I caught two eight pounders and Jeff caught a nine pounder. Bob still hasn't had any luck yet but we should be leaving here pretty soon."

"Oh that's good. Um Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Bells, what is it?"

"Alice wanted to know if I could spend the night over here at the Cullen's, so I was wondering if I could?" I bit my lip nervously as I waited. Alice scooted in closer and put her ear near the receiver as she crossed her fingers.

"Alice? The little bouncing ball of energy?" He asked. I chuckled and looked at Alice as she stuck her tongue out at me. But seriously, how many Alice's do I know?

"Yep, that's her dad." I said.

"Oh, okay. Sure that's fine with me then." Alice squealed right into me ear and I had to pause for a second before I could hear what Charlie was saying on the other end. Hopefully, the ringing in my ear will go away. I could just see myself at home answering the phone every five minutes thinking it was ringing.

He chuckled, "Was that her?"

"Yep, that was her." I said and suddenly my cell phone was being ripped out of my hand and Edward hissed an "Alice" from my side.

"Thank you so much for letting Bella stay the night Chief Swan!" Alice said excitedly. "Okay Charlie, and you, bet I will…Bella has everything she needs here so she is all set…Okay, will do!"

Alice handed me back the phone with a devious smile and I asked, "What did you tell her dad?"

"You know, just to make sure you don't trip over anything or end up in the hospital. Oh and I may have mentioned to make sure that she sees to it that you and Edward don't sleep in the same room together."

"Dad!"

"What Bells?" he asked innocently.

"You – you, never mind." I said.

"Well, I better get going Bells. I will see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah. Make sure you eat something other than Pizza tonight Dad."

He chuckled, "Okay Bells. You have a good night and stay safe."

"All right Dad, you too. Bye."

"Bye." He said. I hung up my phone after I heard the click on the other end.

"Yay! We are going to have so much fun Bella!" Alice said as she started bouncing up and down on the couch, causing Edward and I to bounce with her.

"All right you guys, I think we are going to head up and get ready for dinner." Esme said. "If you need anything, you know where to find us."

"Okay! We are going to get everything set up in here. It's going on five thirty already." Alice said as she got up from the couch. With that, Esme and Carlisle got up from the other couch and made their way upstairs.

Alice turned to us and said, "Bella, you can come help me out with the food in the kitchen. And Edward, I know you guys don't want to do this type of thing, so why don't you give Emmett his rematch?"

"Hells yeah! I want my rematch bro. Especially if the pixie is going to be preoccupied." Emmett said and then headed over to the TV to set the game up.

"That's okay, I can help you guys out if you want." Edward said as we both stood up from the couch.

"Oh no you don't. You just want to help out because you can't stand to leave Bella's side but Edward, a girls gotta breathe ya know!" Alice said.

"As much as I would love to have you there helping us, I know you're not going to enjoy yourself much and would rather play that video game with Emmett." I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck and he slinked his tightly around my waist.

"But I would much rather be with you." He said as he placed his lips lovingly on my forehead.

I heard Emmett make a gagging noise in the back ground and chuckled, "Edward, I would love to be with you two. But I need to have a chat with Alice anyways."

Edward sighed deeply, "Okay. Don't take too long though."

"I hate to break your guys' lovey dovey moment here, but we really need to start getting ready." Alice said as she came over to me and reached up to grab one of my hands from around Edward's neck.

Edward and I parted as Alice started to drag me in the direction of the kitchen. I stopped before Alice could drag me any further and pulled my hand out of hers. I ran back over to Edward who was still watching us retreat and threw my arms around his neck.

I kissed him with all the love I had in me and when we pulled away breathless I said, "I love you Edward."

And with that, I pulled out of his arms and ran back over to Alice, leaving a shocked Edward behind.

**AN: Well, there you have it! I hope I still have my audience out there and I hope I am keeping you guys well entertained and not boring you to death. I know this is moving kind of slow, especially with the whole Bella over at the Cullen's but, I wanted to make her day/night there a special one so that's why I am spending more time on it. So, what do you guys think about Eli and Mike? I always liked Mike and I knew he wasn't the right one for Bella, but I always thought that he wasn't a bad guy. So, I thought I would give him some credit in this story since most I have read bash the poor thing to death :/ Anyways, the next chapter will be the end of her first adventure at the Cullen's and the story will move on from there.**

**So, next chapter: Everyone comes over for the movie party. What's going to happen with Eli and Mike? And is there a nasty storm brewing that will change some plans? Well, you will have to wait and see in the next chapter! I promise I won't take as long with the next one. So please please please review! I know I probably don't deserve it since I kept you guys waiting for so long, but your guys' reviews help me out sooooo much! Please and thank you! And big Emmett and Edward bear hugs for all of you!**

**PS: I got my Twilight DVD at the midnight release! Eeek! Now, I can watch it over and over and over again!**

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW :D

Okay, you don't have to read this but I just wanted to share a crazy/weird/cool/fun dream I had and I knew being obsessed with Twilight would soon render me to dream about it sometime. So, I did just that. It was totally not what I was expecting or whom I was expecting to be with in the dream, but I loved it non-the less.

So, for some reason I was running away from all the Cullen's (Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rose). I think I was at some school since there were lockers around and I found this little cubby behind one of them and hid there as they all went running by and went into a room. When I thought the coast was clear, I got out and began running in the opposite direction when I ran into someone. I looked up and noticed that it was Emmett. I tried to scream but he put his hand around my mouth, stopping me. He said that it was going to be okay and that he was going to take me away from them. And then the next thing I knew, he was running with me on his back. But, at one point he was actually flying (lol, I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous. When Emmett turned into Pete Pan, I have no idea). Anyway, I knew he was flying since we were going right over water that I think was a lake. We ended up landing and I asked him where we were. He said that the place was like their own personal Island and that I would be safe from the rest of them with him there.

It had to be one of the most funnest dreams ever, especially when we were flying! I actually felt butterflies in my stomach. But, hopefully next time I will be running with Edward and not away from him :( I still love Emmett though :D


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: I can't even begin to tell you all how sorry I am that I have not updated in a while. I probably lost a lot of readers because of it but I was trying my best to catch some time to update on my stories. I was finally able to get this one done and some of the next chapter done and I am hoping that I can get my other stories updated as soon as possible. Well, I know you guys are probably saying, "Stop blabbering already and get on with it! You made us wait this long already!" So FINALY, here is the 15 Chapter of _Unexpected Love_.**

Ch. 15

"What on earth did you say to my brother?" Alice asked with a giggle as we walked through the doorway of the kitchen.

"Nothing." I said innocently. "I just told him that I loved him."

"Oh my gosh really? It's about time!" She said with a squeal as she walked over to the counter to unload some of the stuff. "So, how long?"

I looked at her confused as I began to take the chips out of the grocery bags. "What do you mean?"

"How long have you been in love with my brother?" She asked as she went over to a cupboard and grabbed four large bowls.

"Um, I don't really know." I said.

"Oh come on Bella. I could so tell that you have loved my brother since the moment you laid your pretty brown eyes on him." She said as she opened a chip bag and dumped the contents into one of the bowls she grabbed. I followed suit with another bag.

"Well, I wouldn't say I've fallen in love with him right then." I said and reached for another bag while Alice did the last one. "I mean that couldn't really happen, right?"

"It can happen Bella, trust me. That's how it happened with my Jazzy and I." She said and then leaned on the counter after she dumped the last chip bag into another bowl. She had a far away look on her face as she continued, "I knew when I first saw him, him and I were going to be together. He was a little shy at first and didn't say much, but when I looked into his eyes, I knew he felt the same way too."

"How did you know all of that though?" I asked and leaned on the counter next to her.

"I don't know really, it's hard to explain. You know when you feel like something's about to happen? You don't know whether it's going to be good or bad but you know that whatever it is, it's going to change your life?" She asked as she looked at me.

"Yeah, I guess so." I said as I tried to follow with what she was trying to say.

"Well, that's what I got. I had that feeling even before Jasper and Rose came, that something was about to happen in my life and whatever it was, it was going to change it forever. And when I first laid my eyes on Jasper, well, I just knew that he was the one that was going to change my life." She said.

"Wow, so you and Jasper really did experience love at first site." I said in awe.

"Yep." She said with a giggle. "And, I think you and my brother had something similar. I knew he fell in love with you the moment he saw you Bella. And by the way you talked about him and the look on your face when you looked at him, I knew you loved him back. But, you two were just way too stubborn to realize what you felt for one another."

"Yeah yeah, point taken." I said with a sigh. Alice laughed and walked back over to the cupboard.

"Well, it's the truth Bella. Trust me, I know these things." She said as she reached for some smaller bowls and some plates. I walked over and helped her take a few more down.

"So what are all these- " I was about to ask what all the bowls were for when I was suddenly spun around and all's I saw was a flash of bronze hair and green eyes before a pair of soft lips crushed into mine. Edward's arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me vigorously against his warm body. My own arms wrapped around his neck as our lips fought passionately together and what was only seconds seemed to last hours before Edward broke the kiss leaving us both gasping for air. He brought his hands up to my face as he leaned his forehead against mine and stared intensely into my eyes while he wore that gorgeous crooked grin of his.

"I love you too." He said a little breathlessly and his grin still in place. My heart thumped loudly in my chest as I heard those three words come from his beautiful lips. "I stood there trying to comprehend if I heard the words right or not and when I finally realized what you had said I was so ecstatic and elated that you, Bella Swan, loves me and said so herself. It took all the strength in me to not run to you the moment I realized it but I knew Alice would have killed me if I interrupted your conversation."

"Damn straight!" Alice said with a little glint in her eyes. Then she squealed. "Aw! Even though that made me gag a little to see my brother nearly suck the life out of my best friend, I thought it was cute! I knew this would happen and I am so happy for you guys!"

Alice came bouncing over to us and wrapped her tiny arms around us both. "Oh my gosh, imagine if you two get married! You would be my sister Bella! Imagine all the fun we could have and all the shopping we could do! Oh and I could plan your wedding! It would look so beautiful. We could get roses for your bouquet and your dress would-"

"Alice!" Both Edward and I cut her off.

"What?" She asked with an 'innocent' look on her face.

"Never mind." I said and shook my head with a sigh. Alice, will always be Alice.

About an hour later, Alice and I had bowls of chips, dips, cookies, candies, popcorn and some fruit along with the sodas on a table that Alice had Edward and Emmett set up in the living room. We also had the couches pushed back against the walls and a bunch of pillows littered the living room floor.

"Perfect." Alice squealed. "Now, all's we need is the pizza and guests to arrive."

Just as she said that, the doorbell rang. Alice squealed once again and grabbed my hand as she pulled me towards the door. She pulled it open to reveal a stunned looking pizza guy. He looked to be about our age with blue eyes and long brown hair that was toped off with a red "_Fork's Pizza Palace_" hat.

"Oh it's just the pizza guy. I was kind of hoping it was Eli so we could tell her all about you and Edward." She said with a giggle. I smacked her arm lightly and looked back at the pizza guy who was still looking around with a stunned expression on his face. Alice cleared her throat, which caused him to snap out of his revere and jerk his head in our direction. He stared directly at me and his face held the same expression.

"How much do I owe you?" Alice asked as she whipped out her wallet.

"Uh – twenty three fifty." He said while he still stared at me. I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable so I fidgeted with my hands nervously.

"Um excuse me? I know she is beautiful and all, but we would like to pay for the pizza's now so we could get back to what we were doing." Alice said impatiently as she held out the money in which he wasn't taking. I guess Edward heard her because he was by my side in a second and wrapped his arms around my waist possessively while he glared at the pizza guy.

"Is there a problem Alice?" He asked in his smooth velvety voice. But I could detect a hint of a threat. Edwards's presence must have frightened him because he yanked the money out of Alice's hands and shoved the stack of pizzas in her arms before bolting down the steps and into his car. Edward let go of my waist to grab the five pizzas that were stacked high in Alice's arms.

"Thank you brother." She said with a giggle and closed the door. "He bolted out of here so fast, I didn't even have to pay him his tip."

"Jeez. Do all the pizza guys act that way whenever they deliver here?" I asked as we all walked back into the living room.

"Yep." Alice said in a bored voice as she began to neatly arrange the pizza boxes that Edward sat on the table.

"Having a pretty girl answer the door is another plus for them." Emmett said and winked at me as he walked into the living room. I of course, blushed which caused a giggle from Alice and a glare aimed at Emmett from Edward.

Emmett walked over to the table and was about to reach for one of the pizza boxes when Alice smacked his hand away.

"Don't you dare touch that Emmett!" she yelled and pointed her finger at him, "We are not eating any until the guests arrive!"

"Oh come on Alice. I'm starving! Can't I have just one piece?" He whined.

"No! Everyone should be getting here any minute now. You can wait that long." She said

"No I can't. If I wait that long I might shrivel up and die!" He said. I shook my head and chuckled while Edward looked annoyed.

"Emmett honey, you can wait a little while longer." Esme said as she and Carlisle were making there way down the stairs. I nearly gasped out loud at how beautiful Esme looked. She was wearing a red silk dress that went down to just below her knees and clung to her curves with a pair of matching high heels. Her hair was down in curly waves and she wore red lipstick to match the dress. And Carlisle looked dashing in a pair of black dress pants with a crisp white button up shirt and a black dress jacket that went over it.

"Oh my gosh. See! I knew that dress would look lovely on you!" Alice said excitedly as she danced over to her and gave her a hug.

"Thank you Alice. I love this dress." Esme said as she gave a little twirl.

"You look beautiful Esme." Edward said as he let go of my waist to walk over and kiss her cheek. "I hope you and Carlisle have a great time.

"Thank you. We really should get going. I hope you guys have a good time and don't get too out of hand." Esme warned as she and Carlisle walked towards the front door.

"We won't Esme." Alice said.

"And remember, if your friends are still here when the storm comes, I don't want any of them driving home in it okay?" Esme said as Carlisle slipped her coat on over her shoulders.

"Yeah yeah, we know. Go out and have a good time already!" Emmett said as he waved his hand at them and plopped his butt down on one of the couches.

"All right kids. We will see you when we get home." Carlisle said with a chuckle as he opened the door.

"Bye!" We all said in unison as they walked out the door and shut it behind them.

"Eek! It's almost six thirty! Everyone should be getting here any minute now." Alice said as she looked at her watch. "Aren't you excited Bella?"

"Oh yeah, sure." I said trying to sound a little more enthusiastic. I walked over to the couch next to Emmett's and sat down. Edward chuckled as he walked over and sat down next to me and kissed my cheek.

"You are such a party pooper Bella." Alice said with a sigh as she walked over to the table to arrange the snacks one more time.

"So, what were you and Alice _really_ doing in the store today?" Edward whispered to me as he placed his arm around my shoulder.

"No-thing." I said with a smile and looked down at my fingernails in a fake examination.

"Bella –" He began.

"You're just going to have to wait and find out for yourself." I said with a smug smile. Edward opened his mouth to say something else when the doorbell sounded through out the living room.

"Eek! They are finally here!" Alice said excitedly as she ran towards the door and threw it open. I looked towards the door and saw Rosalie and Jasper walk in. As soon as Alice had the door shut, she launched herself into Jaspers awaiting arms. I smiled as I watched Jasper twirl her around in circles, which caused little squeals of joy to come from Alice.

"Hey guys!" Rose said as she walked over to the couch and sat down next to Emmett. "Wow, what's with all the furniture rearrangements?"

"Hey Rose!" I said and gave her a small wave while Edward nodded his head toward her in acknowledgement.

"You know Alice honey. She's got to go overboard with everything, even if we are just watching some movies." Emmett said as he reached over to hold her hand.

"Oh, yeah. I should have known by now." Rose said with a sigh.

"Hey! I am only doing this for _our _enjoyment." Alice said as she walked over to the love seat. Jasper sat down and pulled her onto his lap. "Trust me, you guys will thank me later."

"Yeah, we will see about that." Edward said.

Alice chose to ignore him and started to change the subject. "So, I wonder when Eli and Brandon are going to get here."

"Brandon texted me a little after we left and said they should be here soon. He said something about picking someone up and then they will be here." Rose said.

Alice looked at her confused and curious, "Picking someone up? Who?"

"I have no idea Alice. He didn't say who it was, just that he's picking 'someone' up." Rose said with a shrug.

I was getting kind of curious too. Who on earth would he be picking up? I grabbed my cell phone from out of my pocket and decided to text him to see. Alice must have seen what I was about to do because she leapt off of Jaspers lap and squeezed her way between the couch and me. I rolled my eyes and looked for his number.

Once I found it I started: _Hey Brandon! We are all here waiting for you and Eli to arrive. Rose told us that you might be delayed since you were picking someone up?_

I was about to hit the send button when Alice stopped me, "Wait! Ask him who it is?"

"Alice, I was trying to be subtle about it." I said.

"Just tell him I want to know." She said impatiently. I sighed and added at the end quickly, _Alice is being nosey and wants to know who it is, _and then hit the send button before she could say anything.

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed. Edward chuckled from my side.

I mimicked her, "Alice! I thought you wanted to know who it was?"

She just scuffed and I laughed at her expression. I only had to wait a second before my phone started to vibrate with a new text message. Alice leaned over and watched as I opened it.

_Hey Bells! We are about a couple minutes away. And since I know Alice is probably reading this too, you are just going to have to wait and see you nosey little pixie! : P See you guys soon!_

Edward and I laughed as Alice's eyes went wide.

"Why that little football headed meany! He is so going to get it!" Alice growled.

"Alice calm down." I said still laughing and placed my phone back into my pocket. Alice just got up from the couch in a huff and walked back over to sit back on Jaspers lap.

"So, what movies did you guys rent?" Jasper asked. Alice's face immediately brightened up as she told him all the movies we had finally decided on to rent.

We were sitting around talking for about five minutes when the doorbell sounded again, signaling that Eli and Brandon have arrived with their mystery guest. Alice being Alice jumped off of Jaspers lap and ran towards the door before anyone could even decide on getting up to answer it.

"Oh my gosh! Hi there!" I heard her say excitedly. All her excitement made me want to jump up and see whom this mysterious person that Eli and Brandon picked up was.

We didn't have to wait long. Eli soon made her way into the living room followed by Alice and Brandon. Brandon had his arm around a girl with brown hair that was pulled up into a ponytail and glasses that adorned her petite face. It took me a moment to realize who she was.

"Hey Angela!" I said as I got up from the couch and walked over to her to give her a hug. Angela was awesome. I will never forget her kindness from the beach outing. Ever since then, we would talk to each other when we passed the other in the halls at Forks High, or even partner together for any pair assignments in our health class. She didn't sit with us at lunch though. She normally hung out with Eric, Tyler, Jessica, and when he wasn't sitting at our table, Mike. But, I am so happy that her and Bandon are together. I couldn't think of a better person for him. She was sweet, shy, pretty, and nothing like most girls I have been acquired to meat during my time here at Forks.

"Hey Bella." She said after we pulled away. She had a bright smile on her face. "How have you been?"

"I've been great!" I said and then looked between her and Brandon. Brandon rewrapped his arm around her shoulder and was looking down at her with adoration. "And it looks like you've been the same?"

Angela blushed a little but she was still smiling, "Yeah. I've been doing pretty great myself."

"That's good." I said, smiling at the couple in front of me.

"Oh my gosh Angela." Alice said with a squeal as she grabbed her hand and pulled her from Brandon and then reached over for mine. "You have to tell us how this happened!"

"Alice…"Brandon warned as he followed us towards the couch that Alice was leading us to.

Alice turned and glared at him, "Don't you even mess with me right now Mr. All's I have to say to you, is you better watch yourself tonight." She gave him a wicked glare, which caused him to shrink back a little and then turned back to Angela.

"So? How did this happen?" Alice asked again in disbelief. "Normally I have an eye for these types of things. I wish I would have thought about this pairing sooner!"

"Yeah, think of all the confusion and hate you could have saved for some of us." Edward said dryly.

We all laughed except for Alice who just glared at Edward as if challenging him to say something else and when he didn't, she continued her interrogation on poor Angela.

"Well, I was walking to my car after school on Friday when Brandon came up to me." She said shyly.

Alice squealed. "Okay! Then what happened?"

"He asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner with him that night and I said yes." Angela said and looked at Brandon smiling.

He smiled back at her from where he was standing, "Yep. She actually said yes to me."

"Aw! So what happened on the date? Where did he take you? Did you guys end up going anywhere else after that? Did he – " Alice rushed out but I interrupted her when I saw the overwhelmed look on Angela's face.

"Alice. I think that we should leave what happened on the date for Angela and Brandon to know only. It was there date after all, not ours." I said. Angela looked over at me and gave me a thankful smile. Poor thing wasn't use to Alice.

Alice sighed, "I guess your right. If you don't want to tell me right now that's fine, but if you ever do, I'm all ears!"

"Uh, thanks." Angela said awkwardly.

"So, I think we are waiting on one more guest to arrive and then we can start watching some movies! But, since I know Emmett over there is going to be complaining about dieing of starvation, we can go ahead and eat." Alice said as she got up from the couch and walked over to the table.

"Yes! Pizza time!" Emmett hollered as he jumped up and rushed over to the table of food.

"Gosh, I swear if he had to ever choose between me and food, I think I would sorely loose." Rose said with a sigh. Angela, Eli and I laughed

"So, who else is coming over?" Eli asked me as we made our way over to the table. Edward handed her and me a plate.

"Uh- "I looked up at Alice and she gave me that looked that said 'don't say a word' so I continued with, "Why don't you ask Alice?"

Alice gave me a glare as Eli made her way towards her and I just stuck my tongue out at her.

"Why do I get the feeling this has to do with what happened at the store?" Edward asked in my ear as he leaned over to grab a couple of slices of pizza. I followed suit and grabbed a soda for him and I.

"You catch on pretty fast don't you?" I asked as we walked over to where Emmett and Rose were sitting on the floor of the living room and then plopped down next to them

"Yep. Now are you going to tell me who this person is that you guys had to sneak away and talk to at the store?" Edward asked and then chuckled at my bewildered expression.

How the hell did he figure it out? We could have called this person and asked them to come, how did he know that's what we were doing in the store? But, I guess the whole tampon thing was pretty obvious.

"Well, if I told you, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't make it through the night because Alice would kill me. She's still sending me her death glares." I said with a shutter as I watched Eli try to pry out who was coming from Alice. Alice kept sending me glares from where she stood, but what was I suppose to do? I wasn't going to lie to Eli and all this was Alice's idea in the first place so she should be stuck with a curious Eli right?

Edward chuckled as he looked at his sister, "Yeah, I guess you're probably right. But it's not anyone that we should be worried about is it?"

I answered after I swallowed a bite full of pizza, "No. Well, I don't think so. She mostly just invited him for Eli"

"Him? And Eli?" Edward asked a little shocked. "I wonder who this person really is then."

"Oh, you'll find out soon." I said and took another bite of pizza.

After everyone had their plate of food, they joined us by sitting on the living room floor surrounded by the many pillows that Alice had thrown around. I looked around at everyone laughing and talking together. I still can't believe that I managed to gain such a great group of friends in the little amount of time that I've been here. It's been exactly a month and a half since I first stepped foot through the doors of Forks High School and it's been exactly a month and a half since I told myself I would never have friends like the ones I was currently surrounded by. But as I sat and looked at everyone, I couldn't help but feel lucky. I already felt like Alice, Eli and Rose were sisters to me and Emmett and Jasper were like my brothers. It felt like we were all family, and I liked that feeling. But as I looked at Edward, I still could not fathom how lucky I was to have this angel in my life. His love for me was totally not what I was expecting and I couldn't be happier that he felt the same way that I did. He was everything to me and I could not see myself with anyone else but him.

I sighed happily as Edward looked down at me and smiled his crooked grin. You would think that after how many times I have received that smile, I could refrain myself from looking away from him and blushing but I still could not help it. My happy expression did not last long when my eyes landed on Eli. She looked so uncomfortable and out of place as she sat with her legs crossed looking down at her plate. I already knew why she felt uncomfortable and that was because she was surrounded by nothing but couples. I didn't blame her for feeling that way and I know I would have felt the same way too. I really hope Alice was right about Mike.

Eli must have felt my gaze because she looked up from her plate and smiled when our eyes met, I was just contemplating on getting up to go sit by her when the doorbell rang.

"It's about flipping time!" Alice said in an exasperated tone as she stood up from her place on the floor and walked over to Eli.

"Eli, would you come with me to open the door please?" Alice asked. Eli looked up at her confused.

"Why?" She asked skeptically.

"Please? I really want you to come and answer it with me" Alice said. Eli looked over at me and I winked at her and shook my head yes, praying and hoping that she would be happy seeing the person on the other side of the door.

"Okay." She said as she placed her plate aside and stood up to join Alice.

As they both made their way to the door Edward leaned in down by my ear and asked, "Is this the guy that Alice is trying to keep secret?"

"I believe so. I don't think she invited anyone else." I said.

Alice and Eli's voices could be heard as they made their way back to the living room with Mike Newton trailing behind them. I couldn't help but laugh at the goofy looking grin on his face as he looked at Eli.

"Mike Newton?" Edward asked me in a quiet surprise that was similar to mine earlier.

"Yep. Believe me I am just as surprised as you are but according to Alice's 'couple radar' she senses that these two would make a great couple." I said to him still watching the others.

"Well, hopefully Alice is right. But it kind of looks like she is, look at the way they are looking at each other." Edward said and he was right. Eli and Mike kept smiling at one another as Eli led him over to where she was previously sitting. And the look on Eli's face was the happiest I've seen it all night. I looked over at Alice shocked and noticed the smug smile that was playing on her lips.

"Hey guys!" Mike said as he sat down. Everyone answered with a 'hey Mike', 'hi', or a wave.

"How is it going man?" Brandon asked.

"Pretty good. Just stopped by for a little bit. I can only stay about an hour but I wanted to see how things were going." Mike said with a smile and looked over at Eli.

"Well, now that everyone's here, we can start watching some movies!" Alice said in her famous squeal and clapped her hands together excitedly. We all shook our heads. Only Alice would be this excited over watching a bunch of movies. You would think she was going to Disneyland or something.

**AN: Well, I know that chapter probably wasn't as exciting as most, but I really wanted to give you guy's something now, rather than later since I haven't updated in FOREVER. But, the next chapter will have a lot more exciting stuff going on with their little party. And, I can't promise anything but I will try my hardest to get the next one up as soon as I can! But, I hope I still have my reviewers out there! Please review and tell me what you thought about it! :)**

Next Chapter: There's a major storm brewing outside and there's something coming that's going to ruin their party.

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! :D


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: YAY! It didn't take me a year to update my next chapter :D Well, I hope you all like this one! It is especially long since my last chapter wasn't as long as most of the ones I have posted. And I'm glad to say that my hours at work are a lot better now and all that hard work paid off since I am now officially a preschool teacher! So, I should be able to dedicate about an hour or two a day to write more chapters for my stories! Any who….I also wanted to give a special shout out and thanks to my Reviewers who reviewed on my latest chapter: natalieblack2, Bammers, bloodredeclipse, xXtwihard-hoboXx, Edward-is-sexier-than-Mike, ilovedonuts, swirlygirl123, lorit, AliciaZA, Hucki, EdwardsAngel08, BellaMarie310. Thank you so much you guys! Especially to those who were being patient with me for not updating in so long! Reviewers like you keep me going!! Okay, now on with the show! :)**

Ch. 16

Everyone was all cuddled up on the floor of the Cullen's living room. Edward was leaning up against one of the couches and I was settled between his legs with my head and back leaning up against his chest. Rosalie, Emmett, Brandon, Angela, Alice, and Jasper were all in similar positions and I was shocked to see Eli and Mike sitting pretty close for comfort as well.

The lights in the living room were shut off to give us a 'better viewing experience', according to Alice. The only thing that lit the dark room was the blue of the TV screen as we waited for the movie and the flashes of lightening that would come through the giant floor to ceiling windows.

Emmett plopped down next to Rose after he placed a DVD in the player and pushed play on the remote.

"So, which one are we watching first?" Alice asked as she cuddled up closer to Jasper.

"Oh, you'll see." Emmett said with a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. I was wondering what he was up to. Alice, Edward and I already knew what movies we had rented so what was so mysterious about the one he picked to play first?

We watched as Emmett skipped through the previews and then waited for the menu of the movie to pop up. That's when Alice started screaming and Emmett started laughing like a mad man.

"Oh my god Emmett! How the hell did you get this movie?" She yelled at him and jumped up from her spot. She flicked the lights on and went to look at all the DVD covers.

I watched in amusement as a blue long neck dinosaur came on screen and a little pocket watch appeared at the corner that opened up to reveal the options for the movie. I started laughing when I realized that it was the movie about the time traveling dinosaur that Emmett kept trying to sneak by Alice.

"I have my ways. While you and Bella were looking at all the romance comedies, I ran up to the counter and rented it before you even saw me." Emmett said smugly and then hit the play movie option on the pocket watch. "And now, let the dinosaur funness begin!"

By this time everyone in the living room was laughing at what sly Emmett had accomplished well, everyone except for Alice of course. She looked absolutely livid.

"Emmett, as I told you while we were in the movie store, WE ARE NOT WATCHING A MOVIE ABOUT A STUPID TIME TRAVELING DINASOUR!" Alice yelled and tried to snag the remote from Emmett's burly hands.

None of us were even paying attention to what was happening on the screen, we were all watching Alice and Emmett struggle with the remote in amusement. It was absolutely hilarious to see a small little pixie trying to out power a giant grizzly bear.

"So, who do you think is going to win?" Brandon asked Edward.

Edward looked thoughtful for a moment before he replied, "Well, Emmett may have the upper hand at being the strongest but Alice can out smart him any day. Besides, you never bet against Alice."

"True! But, I don't know. It looks like Emmett might win this one." Brandon said and pointed back at the two.

It looked like Emmett was going to win but suddenly Alice had Emmett pined on the floor, how she managed that with her petite frame I have no idea, but she had him pined and was trying to pry the remote from his hands.

"Alice, get off me! You're making me miss the movie!" Emmett said with a pout.

"Good! We aren't going to watch it anyway!" She said and almost had the remote from his hands when suddenly the whole room went pitch black.

"Aw man, see what you did! You broke it!" Emmett yelled from his spot. I couldn't even tell where he was, that's how dark it was. I couldn't even see Edward's legs around my own. But, I could hear the thundering rain pound on the house and hear the rumbling of thunder a little ways away.

"No I did not!" Alice yelled back, she sounded like she moved over towards the light switch on the far left wall.

"Did to!" Came Emmett's retort.

"Did not!" Alice yelled back.

"Did –"

"Okay, kids that's enough. No one broke anything, I think we had a power outage." Came Jaspers voice. It sounded like he was flicking a light switch off and on.

"I agree." Came Eli's voice.

"We should probably search for some flash lights and candles. Who knows how long the power will be out." Edward said.

"Alright, let's split up. I think there are some candles in the hall closet up stairs, there should be some flashlights in the garage and I think there's one in the kitchen but I'm not too sure." Alice said, sounding a little bit closer.

Edward started to stand and he helped me up from my spot. Once I was on my feet, he let go of me and It felt like he was moving towards the sound of Alice's voice. I then heard everyone else on the floor getting up from their spots.

"Okay, Bella and Edward can check up stairs for candles in the closets and bathrooms, I am sure there are some in the kitchen as well as the dining room and downstairs bathrooms so Eli and Mike can check those out. Brandon and Angela can help out Bella and Edward and Jasper, Rose, the big goof, and I can check the garage. Once we find some, we can all meet back up in the living room" Alice said.

"Okay, sounds good." Eli said, everyone started to walk off, which was probably a bad idea doing it all at the same time since we ended up bumping into someone or something. What followed would have been hilarious if someone hadn't stepped on my foot and by the size of the foot I'm guessing it was Emmett's. Holy Toledo, it felt like an elephant trampled on it!

"Ouch! My foot!"

"Bella?"

"Sorry!"

"Ow, I ran into the flipping table!"

"Sorry!"

"Who the hell put this wall here?"

"Bella where are you?"

"Sorry!"

"What on earth is thi- Oh gross I have no clue what I just touched!"

"Sorry!"

"That's gonna leave a bruise"

"Sorry!"

"Emmett quiet saying sorry!"

"What? I keep running into things and I can't tell if I am running into people or not!" Emmett said but he sounded like he was already out of the living room. "Oh wait, I think it's a cab –"

CRASH!

"Uh oh…"Emmett's quiet voice came.

"Emmett! That had better not of been Esme's favorite antique vase that she got from Italy!" Alice screeched.

"Uh…I can't tell!" Emmett's voice boomed.

"Well, once we get some candles and flashlights we will be able to! So you better start praying and hope you didn't break it." Alice said.

"Bella?" Edwards's voice came from my right.

"I'm right here Edward." I said in a gasp, still a little doubled over from the throbbing in my foot.

I felt his arms encircle around my waist, "Are you okay? I thought I heard you yell."

"I did, Emmett stepped on my foot." I said and stood up straighter.

"Sorry!" Emmett yelled. "See Rose, I knew I at least ran or trampled on someone."

I heard a loud smack and an "OW!" come from Emmett. Rosalie must have smacked him on his head.

"It's okay Emmett! I'm fine." I yelled into the direction his voice came from. And then I laughed, "No need to beat him up Rose."

"Are you sure? I can do another one just for the hell of it!" She yelled back.

"Oh please, do. It's his fault we are in this mess in the first place. His stupid little movie jinxed us." I heard Alice say,

"Did not!" Emmett said back.

"Did to!" Their voices were sounding a little fainter and before I heard the door to the garage close I heard another loud smack and an "OW!" come from Emmett.

"Alright. So Angela and Brandon you're coming with Bella and I and Eli and Mike, you take care of downstairs.

"Already on it!" Eli yelled from the kitchen.

"Oh okay, then let's head up stairs shall we?" Edward said and began leading me towards the staircase.

"Right behind you." Brandon said.

I don't know how long we were all on our scavenger hunt but after about five candles, two flashlights, and a few bumps and bruises later Edward, Brandon, Angela, and I headed back downstairs.

It was a good thing Edward held my waist going downstairs because I stumbled on a step that I could not see and would have probably ended up tumbling down if Edward hadn't held me up straight.

"Whoa, thank you. " I said a little breathless after I was steady and held on even tighter to the wooden railing.

Edward chuckled, "No problem. It seems like you are even more accident prone in the dark. Maybe you should hold the flashlight."

"Thanks." I said and took the flashlight that Edward offered and pointed it straight at the ground. "You should see me trying to make my way to the bathroom at night. I either stub my toe on something or run straight into a wall." I said.

When we reached the final step, I could make out a faint glow coming from the living room. I was thankful for that since we could actually see the shinny tile that ended where the living room carpet began. I looked up and could actually make out the shape of Edward.

I was so engrossed at looking at the god next to me when someone jumped out in front of me causing me to nearly pee my pants.

"BOO!" Came Emmett's roaring voice. Angela and I both jumped and screamed from where we stood.

"Emmett you ass!" Brandon said and punched Emmett on the arm. Emmett was laughing hysterically while holding a flash light up to his face.

"Ha ha! You should have seen your faces! I got you guys good." Emmett said still laughing. I took a deep breath to calm my frantic heartbeat.

"Don't worry, I'll get him later." Edward said to me quietly and gave me a wink. I smiled as he led me into the living room.

There had to be about twenty candles lit all around the room. On the floor in the center of the room were two flashlights that were on and facing up towards the ceiling. Alice was lighting a couple more candles while Eli handed her the matches. Rose was sitting on a couch with Mike and Jasper was putting batteries into a little blue flash light.

"How many did you guys find?" Alice asked when she saw us walk in.

"We got five candles and two flashlights." Edward said as he walked over and handed her the candles.

"You didn't get any from my room or bathroom did you?" Alice asked worriedly as she looked at the candles.

"No, we didn't even venture into your room since I know how much you love those scented candles of yours." Edward sighed. It was true, when Brandon opened the door to go in, Edward nearly had a heart attack and said it was our heads if we touched those candles of hers.

"So now what do we do? I'm bored." Emmett said as he plopped down next to Rose and began to nuzzle his nose on her neck causing her to giggle.

"Well, since there's no power that rules out or movies we were _supposed_ to watch. At least we don't have to sit through that ridiculous dinosaur movie though." Alice said as she placed the last candle on a mantel. "So, why don't we tell some scary stories?"

"Ha, I got one! There once was a guy named Emmett. He had an evil little sister named Alice who turned into a bloodsucking vampire pixie at night. The End!" Emmett said with a laugh.

Alice glared at him, "Emmett if you open that huge mouth of yours one more time, I swear you will have to deal with something much worse than a bloodsucking vampire!"

"Ooh, I'm so scared." Emmett said in a frady cat voice.

"Anyways…" Alice began but couldn't resist sending one more glare towards Emmett. "What do you guys think?"

Um, I think…NOT! Did they not see how I reacted with the zombie movie that one night? I do just as bad with scary ghost stories.

"It seems fitting for a night like this." Eli said with a knowing smile. Right after she said that the whole house shook and rattled from thunder and it seemed like the plummeting rain was coming down even harder outside. I cuddled myself closer towards Edward while his arms wrapped around me tighter. Oh god, why couldn't the power be on so we could watch that cute little traveling dinosaur?

"I agree but…" Mike started to say and looked down at his phone. "My mom just pulled up so I've got to go."

"Aw, are you sure?" Eli asked giving him a little pout. The look on Mike's face was hilarious and it looked like he would have ditched his mom in a heart beat for Eli.

"Yeah, I have some family over and I promised my mom I would only stay about an hour." He said giving her a sorry look.

"Mike, should your mom be driving in this weather?" Alice asked. "Maybe you should tell her to come in and you guys can wait it out a little."

"Oh no, we'll be fine. That woman has drove through rain storms, wind storms, snow storms, and even hail." He said with a boyish grin.

"Okay…but just run it past your mom okay?" Alice said concerned.

"I will. Thanks for having me over and sorry I couldn't stay longer." He said and then turned to Eli. "Hey, do you think I can talk to you alone before I go?"

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Alice bite her lip and knew she was holding back a squeal. Eli looked over at Alice and I and then back at him, "Um, sure. I'll walk you out."

"Great." He said and then turned to us and waved, "Bye guys! See you Monday!"

We all said bye after him as he and Eli made their way to the front door. As soon as we heard it shut, Alice let her lip go and squealed.

"Eek! I knew it! Didn't I tell you Bella?" Alice asked as she jumped up and down.

I laughed, "Yes you did. I guess you really do have 'couple radar'."

We waited about five minutes until we heard the front door open and shut again. Eli came walking in with a giant smile on her face.

"Oh my gosh! You guys are together aren't you?" Alice asked right away as she walked over to Eli and pulled her into a hug.

"Yep." She said with a giant smile, "He asked me out. We are going on a date on Friday!"

"Eek!" Alice said and grabbed her hands as they both jumped up and down squealing. They both turned towards me and grabbed me to join them in their jumping spree. I just stood there until they started tickling me to death so finally I joined. After all, I was happy for Eli and was glad that Alice was right about her and Mike. We ended up gaining on Angela and Rose and soon we were all looking like mad women while the guys looked at us like we all grew three heads.

"Well, once you cackling girlies are done over there, can we please do something?" Emmett wined.

After our little 'girl' moment, we all decided on sitting on the living room floor in a circle and telling scary stories. We were all curled up against our significant other and Eli was by my side clutching my arm.

"So, who's going first?" Alice asked, "And no not you Emmett, you already told your story."

Emmett put his hand down and glared at his sister while she just smiled looking at everyone else. I looked at everyone else too, praying that no one would speak up.

"I'll go!" Eli said. Damn it.

"Okay tell us your scariest story!" Alice said, as she looked excited and cuddled closer to Jasper.

"Well, it's not so much as a scary story but it's pretty spooky." Eli said.

"That's okay, tell us anyway." Angela said looking excited as well. I just cuddled in deeper with Edward and he chuckled as he held me closer. Here we go…

"All right. Well, as you all know, Brandon and I use to live in California. And not too far from where we lived was this cemetery and it was the 'hot spot' for teens to go on Friday nights. This cemetery is huge, and by huge I mean acres and acres huge. And it had little roads that wound all around it so you could get to different parts of the cemetery. Well, at this one little road that led to the main one, it was given a name by the locals because of what it does. This road is not your ordinary road and it's said to be haunted." Eli said.

"Haunted? What you see like ghosts on it or something?" Emmett asked.

"Nope, I don't think anyone's seen any." She said.

"Well then how do you know it's haunted?" Emmett asked looking curious.

"That's what I'm trying to get to Emmett." Eli said rolling her eyes. "You see, this road is on a hill. It's not a big hill, but it's big enough that if you put a water bottle or ball at the top, it will roll all the way down it. Well, there's this legend that if you park your car at the very bottom and put it in neutral, it will start to roll up the hill! Not down the hill, up it! People say it's the ghosts of the people who are buried on that lot who are pushing the cars.

"Are you serious?" Angela asked her eyes opened wide. Oh God…

"Yep, you wanna know why I'm so serious about it?" She asked looking around. Everyone shook there heads yes, except for Brandon and me. Brandon didn't because he probably already knew why since he was sitting there with a smile on his face. I just really really didn't want to know.

"Brandon and I along with a couple of friends went to this hill and we did it. I stopped my car at the very bottom, put the car in neutral and then took my foot off the break. Suddenly the car started to roll up the hill! I mean we were literally going up this hill doing ten miles per hour!" Eli said.

"Holy Crap!" Alice said with her little pixie eyes wide. "You guys actually did it? I don't know if I would."

"It wasn't scary. A little freaky but it was actually pretty fun. We ended up doing it like ten times that day and even went up it going backwards." Eli said nonchalantly.

"Wow, so what was the name of this hill?" Rose asked.

"It was called 'Gravity Hill'." Eli said with a smile. "Fits don't it?"

"I would say so." Alice said with a shiver and continued, "So…who's next?"

This is how most of the night went. After Eli told her story about the creepy cemetery hill that I will definitely not be visiting in the near or far future, Jasper, Edward and Alice told stories and now they were all waiting on me to tell one.

"Come on Bella, you must know one scary story?" Alice asked. I thought for a second and realized I had quite a few I could tell.

"Well, I guess I could tell one." I said with a sigh and sat up straighter. I was practically sprawled across Edward's lap. All the stories that they told had me creeped me out and all the lightening and thunder coming from outside, wasn't really helping.

"Yay! Tell us!" Alice said as she looked over at me with eager and excited eyes.

"Okay." I said and then began, "Before my grandma Marie died, she gave me this really old porcelain doll for my birthday. She told me that the doll had been in our family for generations and she wanted to keep it in the family. For being as old as it was, it was in pretty good shape. But every time I looked at it, I kept getting this eerie feeling about it. Anyways, I didn't want to hurt my grandma's feelings by telling her that her doll creeped me out, so I decided to put it in my room on this little stand that my grandma bought for it. About a week after I put it there, I kept getting this weird feeling, as if it was watching my every move when I was in my room. Even Renee said she felt like it's eyes would follow her every time she would walk past it and she wasn't happy that my grandma gave it to me. But, like me, she didn't want to hurt my grandma's feelings. So, she tolerated it, just as I did but she didn't have to sleep with it in her room."

"Uh oh, why do I get a feeling like we have a living story of Chucky the doll on our hands?" Eli asked.

"Well, she wasn't as bad as Chucky and we would only experience the creepy feelings when we were around it. But, one night had me literally taking the doll and leaving it up in the attach." I said and shivered when I remember what happened that night.

"What happened?" Edward asked from my side. He looked a little worried and pulled me closer after I shivered again.

"Well, I was woken up by something that night. I have no idea what it was but when I woke I kept getting that feeling like the doll was staring right at me and when I looked over at it, sure enough, it's little shinny eyes were focused right on me. So, I got out of bed and walked over to it. It had a little bonnet hat on its head, so I took it and covered her face with it so she couldn't see me. Then, I went back to my bed hoping I would get to sleep. I was just about to doze off when I heard a light thump noise. I opened my eyes and they immediately looked over at the doll. The hat that I used to cover her face was lying on the floor. My first thought was I didn't put it on securely enough and it just slipped off but after that first time, it just kept happening. I was so damn frustrated with it that I told the hat to stay there and after the umpteenth time I walked back over to my bed and tried to get back to sleep. I must have finally fallen asleep though because when I woke up again the sun was shinning in through my bedroom window."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Rose said.

"Yeah, well when I looked over to where the doll was…" I stopped and took a breath. Edward started to rub my arm with his hand."…it was gone."

"Gone?" Edward asked, raising one of his eyebrows up.

"Yep. The stand was still there but the doll wasn't on it. I sat up in my bed and scanned the whole room looking for the doll but I couldn't see it anywhere." I said and looked up to see everyone staring at me with shocked looks on their faces.

"Did you ever find it?" Edward asked.

I let out a long breath, "oh yeah, I found it alright. After I was about to get up from my bed I felt something sift beside me and fall lightly on my arm. I looked over and there it was. The doll was propped up against the pillow next to me. It was staring right at me and the bonnet that I kept trying to cover her face with was sitting perfectly on the top of her head."

"Oh my god!" Alice breathed.

"But, that wasn't all." I said remembering what happened after.

"There's more?" Jasper asked shocked.

I nodded my head. "After that I screamed my lungs out and Renee came running in with a bat thinking I was being murdered but she just saw me standing in the middle of my room staring at my bed screaming. Then, the phone rang and she grabbed it but stayed in the room to try and calm me down. Anyway, I couldn't really hear what she was saying when she was on the phone since I was still standing in the middle of my room staring at the doll on my bed in shock, but it all of a sudden grew quiet and my mom stopped trying to comfort me. I looked over at her to see what was wrong and her face looked shaken and there were tears in her eyes. When I asked her what happened, she finally answered and told me that Grandma Marie had passed away that night in her sleep."

"Holy crap! Okay, Bella wins for the most creepiest and scariest story of the night." Emmett said. "Thanks a lot, now I'm going to have nightmares!"

"Do you think it was your Grandma? I bet you it was!" Eli said.

'"I don't know, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed plausible. My grandma was a trickster and loved to play pranks and tricks on us, so I think it was her that night. I'm not too sure if she was doing it to try and be funny or to try and tell me something." I said and looked down at my shaking hands. "But my grandma's death still did not stop me from taking the doll and stowing it away up in the attack that morning. I love my grandma with all my heart but I don't think my heart could take a doll frightening me every time I was in my room."

"I don't blame you Bella." Eli said as she squeezed one of my hands. I gave her a thankful smile and looked up to see everyone's faces still held a shocked or disturbed look on them.

"Okay, so why doesn't Emmett tell a story now?" I asked, trying to get everyone to forget about mine.

"Hell yeah! I got a scary one for you." He said with a giant grin.

"Oh god…here we go." Alice said and rolled her eyes.

Emmett ignored her comment and started, "Okay, I once knew this guy named Robert and he told me about this house up on First St. and he said that if you drive up to the house and stare at the window, you could suddenly see a - "

CRASH!

"What the hell was that?" Brandon asked looking around. We all looked around at each other, trying to figure out where that loud noise that made everyone jump came from.

"I didn't do it!" Emmett said holding up his hands in defeat.

"We know you didn't do it" Edward said, "It sounded like it came from outside."

"Yeah, and it kind of sounded like glass breaking." Brandon said.

"I'm going to go check it out." Edward said and he let go of me to get up.

"No!" I said and grabbed onto his wrist. There was no way in hell I was going to let him go investigate it. What if it there was a burglar or a murderer outside trying to get into the house? I wasn't about to let him go walking right out into their trap.

"Bella, it's okay. I will take a flashlight out with me and I will be right back." He said looking at me with loving eyes.

"That's what I told Alice when I went into the parking lot that night. I told her I would be fine and I would be right back. But I was neither now was I?" I asked him. I knew I shouldn't have played that card since every time that night was mentioned, you could always see a hint of pain in Edward's eyes. But I didn't care at the moment. I'd much rather have him hurt at my words than by something waiting for him outside.

"Bella, it was probably just an animal but I need to go and check it out." He said placing a hand on my cheek.

"Yeah, Bella. It'll be all right and I will go with him." Jasper said trying to reassure me as he got up from his spot on the floor causing Alice to whimper.

"So will I." Brandon said.

"Oh come on! Can we please wait until the morning?" Emmett said in an annoying voice.

"No, the sooner we go out now, the sooner we will figure out what the hell it was." Brandon said.

"Okay Bella? I'm going to check it out with them and I'll be right back." Edward said and leaned down to press his lips gently to mine. When he pulled away he whispered, "I promise."

I didn't say anything. I knew I wouldn't win and he would end up going out there anyway so I just nodded my head and gave him a look that said he better be back.

He smiled and kissed me one last time before he, Brandon and Jasper walked out of living room and out the front door.

I wasn't paying much attention to what was going on around me since I was staring at the front door intently, waiting for Edward to walk through it again. But I still heard Emmett ask in a pout, "Why the hell does everything have to ruin my fun tonight?"

SMACK!

"Ow! Rose what was that for!"

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned around to see Eli and Alice behind me.

"Bella, he will be right back and he will be fine." Eli said from my side.

"Yep, my Jazzy is out there too Bella." Alice said giving me a smile, "I'm worried about him too but I am sure they will be fine."

I only prayed to god that she was right.

**AN: Well, there you guys have it! Another chapter finally down! Well? How did you all like it? The part about the cemetery is actually true by the way! I've done it and it was totally awesome to be able to go up a hill doing 10 miles per hour without stepping on the gas pedal! And the doll story was partially true. We did have a haunted doll in my family and ever since then, I got rid of every single doll in the house! Well, let me all know what you thought about it please! I will hopefully have the next chapter up really soon!**

**Next Chapter: Bella receives a message from someone. Is it a good message? Or a bad message? And who's the mysterious person? Find out next time my readers!**

REIVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! :D


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight all though I would so love to own Edward :)

**AN: If you've been wondering if I suddenly died or fell off the face of the planet, well I can assure you I am not dead and I do believe I still reside here on earth. I know I've apologized to my readers before for taking so long to update, but I feel like an apology is not enough and all the excuses in the world could not be enough for all my loyal readers that I kept waiting, what? 6 MONTHS for an update! Gosh, I can't believe that it's been that long I'm terrible! I hope I hadn't turned anyone away from this story and hopefully I still have my loyal readers and reviewers out there who are not too upset with me to continue with it. So…I am going to stop blabbering on and on so I can let you guys FINALLY read a NEW CHAPTER!!!!!!!**

Ch. 17

What felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes, the front door opened again and in walked a soaked Brandon, Jasper and a very angry looking Edward. The angry look freaked me out and I began to panic. Oh god, what happened?

Alice and I both made our way over to our loved one, "What happened out there?"

Edward must have noticed the panic in my voice and the look on my face because the anger in his softened slightly, "Everything's okay..."

"Ha! Everything except for Edward's precious Volvo." Said Brandon, which caused Jasper to chuckle.

"What happened to the Volvo?" I asked as I looked up at Edward's face. Rainwater from his soaked bronze hair started to drip down the contours of his god-like face

"I don't know who or what did it, but the passenger side window has been busted in." He said furiously.

"Oh my…" I said and then asked, "There wasn't anything out there like a branch or something that could have done it?"

"Nope, nothing." He said with a sigh of irritation. "There wasn't even a rock or any sign of an animal."

"That's weird." Alice said with a far off look on her face, "You don't think it's anything to call the police over is it?"

"No, I don't think so. There's nothing out there that indicates something might have done it purposely." Edward said.

"Well, I am just glad that you are okay." I said finally sighing in relief.

Edward looked at me and smiled his gorgeous crooked grin, "I told you I would be fine."

"I know, I still can't help but to worry." I said softly looking down at my feet. That all too familiar burn was making it's way onto my cheeks. I felt two arms wrap around me and pulled me to their soaking body. I didn't care if he was soaked or drenched in molasses, I would never deny being held in his arms.

"Bella, I don't want you to have to worry about me. You have enough to worry about as it is." Edward said softly in my ear. He pulled away and looked down at me intently as he stroked my warm cheek with his hand.

"I love you too much to not worry about you Edward." I said looking up at him hoping the intensity in my eyes shown just as strong as his. He smiled crookedly down at me again and leaned down. Even though I was expecting the kiss, it still took me by surprise and nearly made me collapse right into his arms. But sadly, just like every time we had to pull apart because of the need of oxygen, I whimpered at the loss of contact. Come on, who needs oxygen when you have Edward anyway?

"Edward, look what you've done to her brand new shirt! You got it soaking wet!" Alice screeched. I didn't even notice it until Alice pointed it out.

"Oops, sorry Bella. I didn't mean to get you all wet." Edward said but didn't sound the least bit sorry. He smiled mischievously at me and gave me a wink. "But, I'm not sorry for doing this…"

He suddenly swooped me down causing me to squeal and kissed me mind blowingly once again.

"Okay, you love birds, lets break it up!" Emmett said and when he saw that we weren't paying attention to him he added, "Okay, don't make me go get the hose!"

Edward and I chuckled after we pulled away and he had me rightfully back on my feet.

"Well, I better go move the Volvo into the garage and then I will go get changed." Edward said and turned to Alice, "You should probably find some dry clothes for Bella as well."

"Hey, don't look at me as if I kissed her senseless and drenched her. But, since it is getting late and I wanted Bella to see what I have planned for her to wear, than I shall not complain." Alice said with a wicked grin that sent chills down my spine.

Edward rolled his eyes and gave me another quick kiss before saying, "I'll be back."

After the door closed, Emmett let out a laugh, "Ha Ha! That's what he gets for owning a Volvo!"

"Oh Bella, I almost forgot…" Jasper said and walked over to me reaching into his pocket he pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to me. " I think this must have fallen out of your pocket when you either got in or out of Edward's car."

"Huh, I don't think I had anything in my pockets." I said. I looked down at the piece of paper and saw that it had my name written on the front in blood red ink. What the hell is this? I don't remember this at all and the handwriting doesn't even look familiar.

"What is it Bella?" Jasper asked as he looked down at me concerned.

"I don't think this is mine." I said, looking up at him confused.

He looked at me with the same look, "Well, it has your name on it and I don't think its Edward's. He's the one that said it must be yours."

I looked back down at the paper and shrugged. I must be getting memory problems already because I certainly don't remember having put anything in my pocket or even receiving the note in the first place. Oh well, I might as well open it since it has my name on it.

I unfolded the white lined paper and looked down at the elegant writing that I still did not recognize. As I read the words that formed on the page, I had to reread it several times before I finally registered what it said and when I did, I felt my breathe start to quicken and my heart started to thump loud and fast in my chest. I heard someone talking to me but I couldn't understand what he or she was saying. My ears were filled with the sound of my erratic heartbeats and my wide eyes were focused on the words on the paper that read:

_**You're going to pay for the pain you have caused me. I will get you alone Bella, and I will kill you just like you killed my James.**_

_I kept rereading the bold blood red letters over and over again as they replayed back in my mind. The words '__you will pay'_ and '_I will kill you'_ seemed to stick out most and caused a frightening chill to run down my spine. I didn't need anyone to sign who it was from, I knew right away that it could only be from one person. Victoria.

"Edward! Come quick!" I thought I heard someone yell but I wasn't too sure. My mind and body started to go numb and it felt like I was back in the school cafeteria again, going to faint in front of the whole school.

I felt my knees collapse and I waited for the impact of the hard tiled floor but it never came. Instead, a pair of familiar arms wrapped tightly around my waist and brought me down gently into a sitting position on their lap.

"Bella? Can you hear?" I heard him say into my ear. But all I could see is the letters I had just read, replaying over and over in my mind. My chest felt like it was going to explode and I wondered if I was having a heart attack.

"Bella, listen to me." I heard him say again, "I need you to take deep calm breathes for me okay? I am right here, but I need you to calm down for me okay?"

I tried doing what his voice was saying but my mind and body wouldn't listen. I knew my eyes were open though, but I couldn't see a thing and it scared me.

"Bella, come on. You need to calm down. I need to try and figure out what is wrong but I need you to try and calm down first okay?" Edward's velvety voice was so soothing in my ear that I started to feel some of my senses coming back and I realized why my chest felt like it was going to explode. I was breathing as if my lungs were only the size of a thin straw and someone kept putting their finger at the end of it while I tried to breathe in. I focused and felt Edwards's chest rising and falling behind me and so I tried to match his rhythm.

"There you go Bella. Breathe calmly and deeply." He said soothingly.

I started to feel my breathing slow to and almost regular pattern and my heartbeat slow from it's wild and erratic drumming in my chest. I took deep breathes and looked up from the piece of paper to see the scared and concerned faces of Brandon, Eli, Angela, Rose and Emmett in front of me. The others must have been behind me.

"Can you tell me what's wrong now Bella?" He asked. I didn't say a word, I just turned myself around in his arms and handed him the piece of paper. I watched, as he looked at it confused at first but then the confusion turned to frightened and then to extremely furious.

"Alice.." He said through clenched teeth. "Call the police."

"What – Why? What's wrong?" Alice's voice shook when she asked.

Edward, like me, didn't say anything. He just pulled me up from his lap into a standing position and handed Alice the note. She read it and gasped, "Oh my god!"

She reached into her pocket quickly and took out her cell phone to dial the police.

"Will someone tell us what's going on? Why are you calling the police?" Eli asked in a frightened voice.

"Apparently my window being busted in wasn't an accident but was done purposely so Bella could receive this." Edward said as he handed the note to her.

After Eli read it, she read the note out loud to everyone. There was the sound of gasps coming from the girls and uproars from the guys.

"That bitch! She has it coming to her if she thinks she can just threaten Bella like that." Rose said and turned to me with determination written over her beautiful features. "Don't worry Bella. We will all be here for you and we won't let anything happen to you."

"Damn straight!" Emmett said and came over to put a massive arm around my shoulder. "No one messes with my Bella bear and lives to tell about it!"

"Thanks guys." I said. I was thankful that I had received such amazing friends within the short amount of time that I've been in Forks compared to an almost lifetime in Phoenix. But because they were all pretty much like family to me, there was no way in hell I was going to let any of them get hurt because of me.

"Okay guys, the police are on there way here." Alice said. "And Bella, they are notifying Charlie so don't be surprised if he shows up."

"That's good, at least it saves you from telling him." Eli said as she came up and pulled me out of Edwards's arms. I felt so safe there I almost objected.

"You should probably come sit down." She said as she pulled me out of the hallway and into the living room. "You look as white as a sheet and I don't want you passing out on me again."

As soon as I sat down on one of the plush couches, Edward was there right next to me to pull me back into his arms. I hadn't even realized that he changed into a crisp white t-shirt.

I couldn't believe this was happening. I had hoped and prayed that the police would soon catch Victoria but I didn't think that she would come back just to try and kill me. But then again, I guess I could understand why she would. Obviously she loved this James person (even though he was a psychotically sick person) and since I was the reason he was dead, she wanted me dead too. If I were in that situation and she killed Edward, I would want nothing more than revenge and to see her suffer because I wouldn't know what I would do without him. He's practically my everything now and I nearly lost it when James threatened to kill Edward.

"You think we should call mom and dad?" Alice asked, startling me from my thoughts. I felt Edward's fingers gently combing through my hair and I didn't even notice them before.

"Yeah. That would probably be a good idea. I just hope they aren't stuck somewhere because of this storm." He said gently as he continued his ministrations. I leaned my head on his shoulder as I began to feel drowsy from the calm feeling he was putting over me, and soon I felt my eyes drop and listened to the soft murmuring voices of my friends. Their voices were becoming fainter and fainter before I could hear nothing at all.

_I felt like I was on a cloud, floating and weightless as I walked through the empty halls of my high school. I couldn't feel or hear my feet hit the ground as I walked and I couldn't hear the sound of birds, cars or any other sound of nature. I couldn't even hear the breathes that I took as I looked around, looking for someone, anyone but I had a sinking feeling that I was alone. What the hell, did I enter the Twilight Zone or something? _

_I walked on in the hallway and noticed that it just kept getting longer and longer. I looked at the classroom to my left, and saw that it said it was room B4-20. I realized I was at building 4 and the room was my biology class. I kept walking and came to the next class but it also said B4-20. I stopped. Okay, this is strange. There's no one in sight, I can't hear or feel a dam thing, I can't seem to get to the end of the building, and all the rooms are my biology class. What the hell is going on? _

_I tried walking more, as if it would help, and even tried running to get to the end but the more I tired, it kept getting further and further away. I turned around to see if I could head back the other way but that direction looked exactly the same. Maybe I should try to go inside the classroom. I walked to the nearest one and went to open the door but I found that it was locked. Okay, this is just getting stupid now! I can't go forward, I can't go backward, and I can't even go inside the classrooms! How the hell am I suppose to get out of here? _

_Even though I couldn't hear or feel my breath, I knew I was starting to panic. I began to run to each door trying to open them, but they all seemed to be locked. With each locked door I came upon, I felt myself panic even more until I came to another door and slammed myself into it as I turned the handle. Expecting it to be locked, I was surprised when I suddenly clattered through the door and fell soundlessly on a forest floor. There were tall trees surrounding me everywhere and everything was full of green grass and moss. As I looked up, some of the moss hanging off of the trees gave the forest an eerie look. I shoved myself off of the ground and stood. I looked around and couldn't recognize where I might have been. Since all of the forest in Forks looked pretty much the same, I could be anywhere for all I know. Heck, maybe I wasn't even in Forks! I should probably go back through the door. Maybe I can find a different door that will lead me to a much more pleasant place. _

_I turned around to go through the door but I jumped as I realized there was no door. It just disappeared. Can't anything go right in this place?_

_Suddenly out of the dead silence, I heard the sound of a twig break coming from my right. I was startled from the sound and spun around into the direction that it came from. My eyes searched the forest but I could see nothing but green tress and brush. Then, I heard another twig break come from a different direction and I spun around to face it only to be greeted by the sight of the forest and nothing else. _

_I took a deep breath to try and calm my nerves but was soon startled again by another sound. This sound was not the sound of a twig breaking, but the sound of a woman laughing menacingly. I turned around, and this time I hoped and prayed that I would only see the greenery of the forest once again, but what I saw caused a scream to crawl it's way inside my throat. It seemed to get stuck because all I could do was open and shut my mouth like a gapping fish._

_There, standing a few feet away from me was a tall woman with wild red hair that I immediately recognized from one of the police photos I saw when I was in the hospital._

"_Victoria…" My voice came out as a ghostly whisper as I stared at the woman in front of me with fear. _

_The woman in front of me wore a menacing smirk and it seemed to grow at the sound of her name coming from my lips. I looked down to her right hand and shuttered when I saw a long sharp knife wrapped around her elegant fingers. _

"_Hello, Bella." She said in a sweet voice, but I knew she wasn't trying to be sweet with the evil glint she wore in her startling green eyes and the smirk that was still present on her face. The look in her eyes made me want to curl up in fear and I found myself beginning to back away from her which only caused her to laugh._

"_Back away all you want Bella, but you won't be able to escape from me." She said, this time without the sweetness. She started to take steps toward me as I was taking steps away from her. _

"_Look around you Bella." She said with her arms out and I kept my eye on the knife, "There's no one here to save you now. It's just you and me."_

"_Leave me alone!" I shouted shakily at her, but I knew what I said was probably the most stupid thing that has ever come out of my mouth. When the hell has someone that looks like they are about to kill you, leave you alone just because you told them to? It didn't work in the horror movies and it sure as hell probably won't work now._

_Victoria laughed again, "Your pretty funny but to bad it can't save you. Goodbye Bella."_

_I was not expecting her to come running at me but I turned around and began running away from her in the opposite direction as fast as I could. I prayed that my clumsiness wouldn't interfere but I was sadly mistaken when my foot got caught on a root. I fell hard onto the forest floor and heard Victoria's running steps coming closer and then suddenly they stopped. I sat up and turned around confused to see that there was no one behind me. Where the hell did she go?_

"_Boo!"_

_I turned my head around into the direction that I had been running in only to see Victoria standing there with the knife in hand._

_I let out a scream before I jumped back up onto my feet and took off running in the opposite direction. My feet hammered down onto the uneven forest floor and I ducked from hanging tree branches as I ran faster than I ever have in my life. My heart pounded as I could hear Victoria's frightening laughter and the sound of her footsteps not too far behind my own. I turned my head to see if I could catch sight of her and screamed when I realized how close she actually was. _

_My eyes widened in fear as she raised the knife up and swung it at my back. I lunged as far forward as I could but with me being the clumsiest person in the world, I ended up tripping on something once again and fell flat on my face. I felt a sense of defeat and dread well inside of me; because I knew there was no way in hell that I could just get up and run from her now. She was way to close for me to get away, so I just covered my head with my hands and cringed as I waited for the knife to plunge into my back. _

_But…it never came. I slowly took my hands from my head, still waiting for the feel of the knife to penetrate my flesh, and turned around to see that there was no one behind me. _

_I turned my head around too look in front of me when and gasped when I realized I landed in a beautiful clearing. I stood up slowly and shakily as I looked before me. There were wild flowers growing all around in varying colors like light blue, yellow, white, and lavender. The grass looked to be about three inches tall and looked as if it would feel cushy to the touch. Butterflies in bright and abstract colors were fluttering about and the sun was shining down on it all, giving the area a heavenly look. I looked around in awe at the most beautiful meadow I have ever seen. _

_There was movement coming from the brush at the other end straight across from me and my eyes immediately darted toward the noise. I held my breathe in anticipation as to what was coming forward, but I knew that it had to be only one person. But still, my body would not move from the place it was planted. All's I could do was stand and wait as my killer was making her way towards me once again. _

_I gasped in surprise when Victoria did not come walking out into the meadow and for the first time, a smile spread across my face. It was Edward._

"_Edward!" I called out to him as he smiled my favorite smile and started to make his way towards me. _

_I started to walk towards him so I could meet him halfway but suddenly, I couldn't move. I looked down at my feet and noticed vines starting to weave their way across my feet and legs, keeping me in place. _

_I glanced up at Edward confused as to why this was happening. When I looked up though, my confusion turned to shock and horror as I noticed Victoria walking out from the brush behind Edward. She stared at the back of his head with the same smirk she gave me. _

"_Edward, Run!" I yelled to him trying to struggle out of the tight bind that the vines held on me, but it was no use. The more I tried to tug them off, the tighter they would get around my feet and legs._

_I looked up helplessly to see Edward still smiling and slowly walking toward me like none of this was happening. _

"_Edward! Look behind you!" I yelled fearfully and wondered why he kept smiling. It was as if he couldn't see what was really going on. _

"_Please Edward…" I tried again, "…Run!" _

_I gasped in horror as I noticed Victoria getting closer and closer to Edward, still wearing that psychotic look and grin. And everything from there seemed to go by in slow motion._

_Victoria wrapped her left arm around Edwards's neck, stopping him dead in his tracks. The smile that he wore finally started to fade into a mask of fright as his emerald eyes stared back at me horrified. My own brown eyes widened even more with fear and began to swim with tears as I realized I could do nothing to save him. I was about to watch this lunatic of a woman murder the one guy that I have ever fallen in love with. He was my world, and now my world was going to be shattered into a million pieces. _

"_Edward…" I chocked out in a sob. I felt so helpless standing there, not being able to run to him or to try and fight Victoria off. Now, he was going to die because of me. _

_Victoria gave a hyena of a laugh before she raised the knife she held, ready to plunge it into Edwards's chest. _

"_No! Please don't kill him!" I yelled out desperately still sobbing. "I'm the one you want dead, so kill me! Not him!"_

"_Sorry Bella." She said with one of her sickly sweet smiles. "You killed my love, so now, I get to kill yours."_

_I gapped with fear as I watched the knife plummeting down slowly, inching closer and closer to Edward's beautiful heart._

"_NO!" I screamed out, but I knew it was a helpless plea. Victoria was going to kill him, and there was nothing that I could do to save Edward. _

**AN: Well, there you have it. I wasn't too happy with it but I wanted to get something out there for you guys. And I apologize for the length. I know I post a hell of a lot longer chapters than this one but I felt if I didn't get the next chapter out as soon as I could, then I would never be able to get it out. So, there it was. Please be kind, I know I don't deserve it but I would really love to know what you guys thought about the chapter and if you are a new reader to my story, how do you think of it so far? And I know on my profile I said that I would probably only write stories for Twilight, but I'm seriously thinking of writing some fanfics for Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. I fell in love with the Mad Hatter, and even more so that it was Johnny Depp playing his character. The stories will most likely be Alice/Hatter even though people were saying that they only had a brother/sister connection, I felt that there was a stronger Alice/Hatter vibe going on through the movie. Hey, it was even in the original script that they were supposed to kiss! But, anyway…I promise you I will not write a single Alice in Wonderland fic until I at least update on my _Brown Eyed Angel _fic and try to get caught up with this one! Thank you for reading!! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Hello everyone. I will first start off with a tremendous apology of not being able to update my fic. As I explained on my profile, my old computer took a poop and everything on it was pretty much wiped out. SO, that meant all my fanfic material was gone, for good. All my ideas on my chapter's, my new chapters for other stories, and this chapter that was almost done was gone. I had to invest on a new computer and now I'm trying to get everything situated. I don't remember half of what I typed about on this chapter but I did my best to try and get it somewhat similar. Anyways, I hope you all like it and let me know what you think please! :) **

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight although I would so love to own Edward ;)

Ch.18

"NO!" I screamed as I bolted awake and sat up from my position on the couch. Tears wear streaking down my face as the vivid nightmare replayed itself back into my mind. It felt so real, my stomach was turning and my heart was still pumping fast from seeing the look on Edward's face as the knife Victoria held reached closer and closer to his chest.

I jumped slightly as I felt a pair of comforting arms wrap themselves around my shaking frame.

"Bella love, what's the matter?" Edward asked softly in my ear as he sat next to me.

"N-Nightmare..." I breathed out shakily. It was probably the only coherent thing I could make out at the moment.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked as he leaned back to look at my face and wipe some of the tears that stained my cheeks.

"No." I said shaking my head hoping it would work to rid the haunting images out of my mind.

"Are you sure?" He asked, placing both his warm hands on either side of my face and stared intently at me with his beautiful green eyes.

I shook my head yes and wrapped my arms around his neck. I buried my face into his neck and inhaled the familiar smell of Edward. It comforted me and all's I wanted at the moment was to be held by the one that I feared loosing the most.

I sighed contently as I felt him hold me closer to him and kiss the top of my head with his soft lips before replacing them with his cheek.

There was no way I could tell Edward about my dream. How would I even begin to start? _Um Edward… I had a dream about you practically getting stabbed to death_. Who the hell would want to hear something like that? I would freak out if someone ever told me that and would probably be looking behind my back everywhere I went to make sure that persons dream wasn't some sort of vision and became reality.

I just hope this dream was only caused from that stupid letter. But somewhere deep inside I can't help but to think that Victoria may go after Edward just to get to me. It would make perfect sense. Kill the one they love for the loved one you lost. An eye for an eye. And it was all because of me. I was the reason James got shot and now Victoria was out there somewhere ready to get revenge. And that revenge would be… Edward. I could not let that happen! I don't know what I would do without him; I've become so attached to him that I can barely breathe without him. My heart and everything else with it belongs to him and if he ever got killed, everything else would be killed along with him.

But how was I going to protect him from some lunatic out there who's only thing on there mind was revenge? I was Bella, the geeky, klutzy, plain girl from Forks Washington who could probably find some insane way to kill herself just by getting out of bed in the morning. I was no superhero with non-human strength or powers, so how was I suppose to protect the guy I love?

"Bella sweetheart, are you alright?" I heard a very familiar voice ask. I looked up from my comfort spot on Edward to see Charlie standing above us with a concerned look on his face. I gasped and jumped up to hug him, cutting him off guard.

"Dad, when did you get here?" I asked as he gave me a tight squeeze back and pulled back.

"I've been here for a while Bells. You've been knocked out on that couch for almost an hour." He said. That's when I looked around the house and saw a couple of police officers standing by the doorway to the living room talking to Esme and Carlisle (Whoa, when did they get here?) Alice, Jasper, and Eli were sitting on the other couch talking amongst themselves and Rose was perched on Emmett's lap looking half asleep in one of the reclining chairs. Brandon and Angela were the only ones missing from the picture.

"Oh… I didn't realize I slept that long." I said feeling kind of embarrassed.

"Bella?" Someone asked me from behind. I turned and looked at the familiar face of Deputy Wilson, the police officer from Port Angeles who came to my hospital room and asked me questions about the night in the parking lot, the night that started this whole mess.

"Hello…" I said as I shook his hand.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here? Since the crime that happened here tonight is linked to the one that happened in Port Angeles, I have been assigned permanently to this case. I will be here in Forks until we figure out where this Victoria person is and I hope to bring you back a safe state of mind Miss Swan." He said, "We have been working on this case since your attempt kidnapping and have only received a couple of hits."

"Really, what have you found?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around my middle.

"Well, we believe that the break-ins down in La Push are somehow connected." He said.

"Connected how?" I asked and felt immediate comfort as one of Edward's arms wrapped around my waist. I looked up and gave him a thank you smile, in which he returned.

"We believe Victoria was spotted down there a couple of weeks ago. One of the reservation elders said they spotted a women with red hair running into the forest not long after one of the houses near by was broken into. We believe that she is staying somewhere near there, either in a cabin or just camping out in the forest. That would explain the list of things that have been stolen; they seem more like supplies then anything any normal robber would want to take." He said and handed me a paper. "This is a list of some of the things that have been reported stolen by some of the residents."

I looked down at the list in my hands, scoffing at how shaking my hands still were, but I was still able to read it clearly and it seemed Edward was able to too as he read the list out loud from over my shoulder.

"Clothes, shoes, blankets, cutlery, food, and other things you would consider camping supplies look like they take up most of the list. It only looks like a couple of the families reported jewelry missing." He said with a puzzled look on his face.

That was pretty weird. What kind of crazy robber robs a house of things that could mean no value to them? You hear most robbers steal things that they can end up selling in return for some extra cash. So either this robber was homeless, or it really was Victoria hiding out in the woods somewhere waiting to come after me or my Edward.

"Yep, pretty fishy isn't it? When Charlie told me what was happening on the La Push Reservation and what was being stolen, I went down there to get a list of everything immediately. And when one of the elders told me about the woman with the red hair, I knew we had a hit on something." He said and took the list back as I handed it to him. "It's not everyday I get a police report about stolen home goods when they could take things like computers, televisions, and other things with a high value price."

"Very true." Charlie said from my side. "Billy Black, a friend of mine on the res, told me that the Tenorio families' eldest son just got a brand new stereo system in his room and the robber took nothing but a few cans of food and some shirts hanging to dry."

"I am certain it's her Charlie. We are definitely going to be staking the area out and keep a look out for anything else suspicious. With your men and my men I am sure we can get a lot of ground covered. In the meantime though, just make sure the windows and doors are locked at night, even though it seems like her specialty breaking through windows. But if anything else happens, call me immediately." He said and then turned to me. "Same goes for you Bella. I think it would be best if you kept around your friends and father for a while. I wouldn't chance going anywhere alone, she could be anywhere and if she is watching you then I am sure she is waiting for any chance she can get."

And with that he gave my dad a nod and walked over to Esme and Carlisle and bid them a goodnight before leaving with the other two police officers in tow.

"Bella Honey, I am so sorry we weren't here." Esme said as she walked over and gave me a hug and then turned to my dad, "Charlie, I would understand if you felt angered towards Carlisle and I. I just can't believe that this crazy woman has found her way here."

"Esme, it was out of your hands." Charlie said, "I don't blame you for anything, the kids wanted time to themselves tonight. None of us knew that this was going to happen."

Esme just nodded her head, but I could tell she still felt guilty and it made me feel guilty that she felt guilty. Whoa, did that make any sense? I sighed and walked over to her giving her another hug in hopes to reassure her. This family has done nothing but treat me like one of there own and if anything happened to them, I just couldn't bear it.

What if Victoria's meaning of "I'll get you alone" was "I'm going to kill everyone you know so I can finally get you alone". Some how she now knows where they live so what if she decides to come back? With a pang in my chest and a terrifying mental image of a crazed red headed woman murdering my second family and my love, I decided then and there that I had to do something to protect them.

Looking around at them just made that image that much harder and I tried to push it out of my head. I couldn't help but to feel guilty, that all of this that was happening was my entire fault and now this happy family and group of friends have been put into horrifying danger, and it is all because of me.

"Bells, I think I'm going to head out now. Esme, Carlisle, do you think you guys are all going to be alright? I could get one of my deputies out here to do a patrol tonight?" he asked putting his jacket back on.

"No, I think we should be fine, thank you Charlie." Carlisle said and shook Charlie's hand, "And again my wife and I can not even begin to say how sorry we are for what's happened here tonight. We always considered our house to be safe and for this to happen especially when we weren't here, we just can't believe it."

"As I told your wife, it was out of everyone's hands." Charlie said. But mine, I couldn't help but think. Now this family is going to feel unsafe because of me. "We just need to keep our eyes open and be extra careful around here."

"Well Bella, I'll see you tomorrow then?" Charlie asked as he turned to me.

"Actually dad, I think I'm going to head home with you." I said patting gently on Edward's hand that was still clutched to my waist. He let go with a look of confusion on his face.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked looking at me shocked. "Bella, you'll be fine here. Hell you might even be safer here than back at home. You have all these people here, I'm sure she won't try anything else tonight."

"Yeah Bella, I think you should stay. We are all here for you and I won't let anything happen to you." Edward said with a pleading look in is eyes. I know he wanted to make sure nothing was going to happen to me, but I wanted to make sure nothing was going to happen to him and I felt that leaving would be my best bet.

"I know, but I really think I should go home." I said looking down at the floor, anywhere but his face because I knew if I would look up I would only see hurt in his handsome features and would more than likely cave into staying.

"Well alright." Charlie said and the asked, "Where's your stuff? I'll go put it out in the cruiser while you say your goodbyes."

"I didn't really bring anything. Alice was going to lend me some clothes." I said, still looking at the floor as I felt Edward's penetrating stare on my face.

"Oh, ok. I'll just wait for you in the car then." He said, and gave everyone another goodbye before walking out the door.

I decided to look up at Edward and when I saw the hurt look on his face and the slight anger in his eyes, I really wish I hadn't. I opened my mouth to tell him bye but I was cut off by my pixie friend.

"So Bella, should we go upstairs and get into our pj's? I bet you're…"

What she was about to say I didn't know because Edward turned to her with a glare and said in an annoyed and angered voice, "She's not staying Alice."

He looked back at me and gave me a look that almost matched the one that he just gave Alice and turned away and walked out of the room without so much as a goodbye.

I looked at Alice in shock and she looked back at me with a mirror image of mine.

"Don't worry about grumpy pants." She said and wrapped me up in a hug, "I don't know what the hell is wrong with him but I will get to the bottom of it ok?"

I shook my head yes as I felt my throat tighten uncomfortably and pulled back from her embrace. "I'm sorry I'm not staying Alice."

"It's okay!" She said with a wave of her hand. "I totally understand and we have plenty of time to do other sleep-over's."

"Thanks Alice." I said with a shaky smile and gave her another hug. "I'll talk to you later."

"Okay." She said, this time pulling out of my embrace, "Don't worry about hot head. I'll talk to him and give you a call tomorrow."

I thanked her again before walking over to where Jasper, Eli, Emmett, and Rose were still seated and told them I was planning on leaving with my dad instead of staying the night. I got a comforting hug from each of them and they all said they would be there for me if I needed them for anything.

"Don't worry Bella bear. That bitch will be dead before she even tries to lay a finger on you, got it?" Emmett said as we pulled.

I laughed a little, "Thanks Emmett Bear."

"No problem." He said with a smile and ruffled my hair like I was a little kid. He stopped though immediately after the look he received from Alice. Probably because he messing up my hair, I thought with an amused smile.

I was about to say my last bye to everyone before I remembered that Brandon and Angela weren't there.

"Hey, where are Brandon and Angela?" I asked.

"They left not too long after you woke up." Eli said, "Angela was a bit shaken about what happened so Brandon took her home. He should be coming back soon though."

"Oh okay." I said and felt guilty about Angela getting freaked out about tonight. I sighed and started walking towards the hallway of the living room. I gave everyone a wave goodbye and headed out the door.

Charlie's cruiser was parked in the drive way facing the house. I opened the door and got in with a heavy plop. As I put my seat belt on, I looked up at the Cullen house and felt a familiar ache in my chest as I hoped and prayed that nothing bad will ever happen to them or my other friends. And I prayed that nothing would happen to Edward. I felt another pang in my chest as I remembered the look he gave me, it made my throat burn and tears began to work their way into my eyes. What if he doesn't want to speak to me again? Have I angered him that much?

I looked out my window and didn't notice that we were driving down the highway. I placed my forehead on the glass and closed my eyes. As soon as I did, the dream I had earlier popped its way back into my mind, making me jolt and snap my eyes open.

"You okay there Bells?" Charlie asked with concern.

"Yeah…" I said, sitting up straighter in the seat. But as he continued talking I knew he didn't believe me.

"Bella, I can't even imagine what your going through right now, but I want you to know that you can come to me if you need to talk about anything." He said reaching over and patting my hand that was sat on my seat. "We will catch her Bella. And I will not let anything happen to you."

I sighed and turned him giving him a small smile, "Thanks dad. I know I can come to you."

He patted my hand again giving a smile of his own, and then turned his attention back on the rode.

By the time we got home and I bid Charlie a goodnight, the clock on my nightstand read 3:21am. I didn't even realize how late it was or how early it was I should say. I grabbed my pajamas and made my way to the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. When I turned the light off and crawled into my comfy covers I sighed as I remembered all the days' events. I had such a blast with my friends and my love and so much had happened in one day it made my head spin.

Everything from hearing about what happened to Edward's real parents to telling him that I loved him made me realize that I couldn't risk hurting him. What if Edward has to go through losing his parents again because of me? I couldn't do that to him! What if he has to go through not only losing his parents, but his brother and sister or his friends because of someone who is trying to get to me?

With a heavy heart and extreme guilt, I realized that I have to eliminate myself from the picture. Maybe if I don't hang around the Cullen's or my friends, then maybe Victoria will leave them be and only come after me. At 3:40 in the morning, it seemed like the perfect plan in keeping the ones I love, safe.

**AN: I know it's not as long as my other chapter's but at least I finally updated. Well, please let me know what you thought! The reviews are greatly appreciated! **


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Yay! It didn't take me a whole year to update the next chapter :P I know Ch. 18 was a little short compared to what I usual write but I promise this one is much longer! I hope you all enjoy it and please let me know what you think after you are finished! And thanks to those who reviewed!  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight although I would so love to own Edward ;)

Ch.19

I woke with a start, not knowing exactly at first as to what caused my abrupt wake up call. But the moment I saw my shaky hands and felt the sweat mixed with tears on my cool face, I knew what it was. A nightmare.

I laid back down with a huff as I wiped the sweat from my brow. I looked over at the blue glowing numbers on my alarm clock and saw that it was 6:12am. I sighed, knowing I would definitely not be able to go back to sleep for two reasons. 1: my alarm clock would be going off soon and 2: for the most obvious reason as to what woke me in the first place.

Saturday night I had the same exact nightmare I did when I was a sleep on the Cullen's couch. And when I got home after that and finally fell to sleep, I had the same dream again. And tonight (or I should say this morning) I had the same exact nightmare waking me once again. It starts off the same; I am standing in the middle of a beautiful meadow that is brightened with sunshine and covered with thousands of purple, blue, and yellow wild flowers. I look over my shoulder to see Edward coming towards me and like always, I can not move. And the next thing I know, I am watching the one I love almost being stabbed to death and not being able to do anything to stop the crazed red headed woman with the knife.

And as usual, the shaky, sweaty, and tears accompanied my abrupt wake up call before the sharp knifed plunged into Edward's chest. I swear it seemed like the knife was getting closer and closer to Edward's beautiful heart and right before it does, I am suddenly jerked back into consciousness.

I looked back at my alarm clock and saw it now read 6:25am. Deciding there was no point in laying there waiting in my sweaty sheets no longer, I threw my tangled sheets off and got up to grab a plain blue shirt and some jeans to get dressed into after my shower. I didn't grab anything that Alice had bought me. I felt way too guilty to wear something from her after what I've been doing.

It was Monday morning, two days after the note and broken window at the Cullen's house. Two days since I have last spoken to Edward or any of my other friends. I let myself relax under the steamy hot water as I recalled all the text and voicemail messages they had all left on my cell phone. Thankfully, they only called the house once and I had told Charlie to tell whoever was calling that I was still sleeping. Eli, Rose, Emmett, and even Jasper called to check up on me or leave a text of concern. Alice though, called almost every half an hour, asking if I was okay and how stupid her brother was being and apologized for how he ignored me when I left their house. She even went as far as threatening the other window of his Volvo if I didn't pick up the phone and talk to her. But, after that I turned my phone off and let my voicemail take the messages and I haven't had it on since then. I love them all (Edward the most of course) and I knew if I kept listening or reading any more of their messages, I would have caved in and answered one of them eventually. And that someone would have probably been Alice, not only to get her to stop filling up my inbox and voicemail, but she started to threaten me as well, with…shopping! And she also thinks I'm not answering them because I am upset with Edward because of how he reacted when I decided not to stay the night with them. Well, I had to admit that some of the reason why I'm ignoring their calls was because of that but not for the reasons she was thinking. I was hurt that he ignored me and didn't bother to call or text me the whole day after, but I had no idea what he was thinking when I told him I wanted to go home. After he told me that he would do anything to protect me and I basically just brushed him off, it probably gave him the impression that I didn't trust him enough to not let anything happen to me. So even though it hurt like hell, I couldn't blame him for acting the way he did and not wanting to talk to me.

But if only Alice knew the real reason as to why I'm ignoring them. If I caved in and answered one of their calls, then I would have been breaking my own vow to protect them. I wanted to distance myself as far away from them as I could. I knew how much this could possibly hurt them, but I would much rather them be emotionally hurt rather than physically. Or worse, dead because of me.

I sighed as I turned the warm water off and got out of the shower and began my return of getting ready for school.

School, that was going to be tough. I had no idea how I was going to avoid them. Especially with Eli in a couple of my classes and Edward being in my biology class, was going to make my plan even more the harder. Edward though, I did not know if he was even going to talk to me still. The thought of that hurt, but maybe it would be better that way and make it a lot easier. And, as if to reassure my confused mind, the image of the knife coming closer towards Edward's beating heart crept its way into my mind.

By the time I was finished getting completely ready, which wasn't much except for getting dressed, brushing my teeth and hair, I still had forty five minutes left until school started. Thinking it would be best to leave now and arrive early before any of them arrived, I wrote a quick note to Charlie who was still in his room getting ready and told him I had to leave early to get started on a project and to have a good day at work. After I left the note by the coffee pot, I grabbed a granola bar from the cupboard (even though I wasn't hungry) and made my way out the door with my backpack slung over one shoulder.

When I arrived at the high school, there were only three cars in the parking lot (including mine). I looked at the dashboard and saw that it was 7:30 which meant I had a half an hour of trying to hide out. I grabbed my back pack and climbed out of my truck, trying to avoid the rain puddles on the ground.

Now what to do? I had plenty of time to hide but where do I go? I knew they probably wouldn't look in the cafeteria but even if it was a possibility, I still would not go since the smell of the food made me nauseous in the morning. So, that left that out. And since there was really no place to hide, especially in the drizzly mist outside, I decided to head to the library.

I've never been in the library before so it took me a while to find it. When I did, I found a table in the far back that was hidden by some shelves and felt pretty confident in that spot. The library was completely empty of students, except for my self. I sat down on a hard wooden chair and placed my backpack on top of the table. I took my cell phone from the bag and turned it back on to keep track of the time and realized it took me a good ten minutes to find this place since my phone said it was now 7:42am. I also noticed I had two missed texts from this morning. I opened them to make sure they weren't from Charlie or my mom, but saw that they were from Eli instead.

The first message read:

_Hey Bella, I stopped by your house this morning to pick you up for school but your dad told me you already left so I guess I will see you at school :)_

I opened up the second one and it read:

_Hey Bella, Where are you? :( _

That message was sent about a minute ago. I didn't know if I should tell her about my plan or just keep her in the dark like everyone else. But Eli was my first real friend here at Forks High and the thought of pushing her away like the rest, seemed to sting a little bit more. But, what if she doesn't understand or like why I am ding it and decides to tell everyone else about it? I just could not risk that happening.

My phone suddenly buzzed and I saw I had anther new message. I opened it to see that it was from her once again and it read:

_Bella, we are all here now where are you? We are really starting to get worried here. Please tell me where you are. I will come by myself if you don't want the others there but please answer back :(_

I felt tears begin to make there way into my eyes after I read her message. I new pushing them away was going to be hard but I didn't realize it was going to be this hard already. But the thought of Victoria coming to harm them, kept giving me the encouragement that I needed to stick with my plan. So, I hit the reply button and wrote back:

_Please leave me alone Eli, and tell the others to do the same._

I hit the send button and not wanting to see what she replied next, I put my phone back into the front pocket of me backpack. I looked around, hoping to find a clock somewhere and was relieved to see one behind me hanging on the wall. There was only five more minutes until the bell rang but I decided to wait until it rang to make my way to English class. I didn't want to risk running into any of them and once the bell rang, Mr. Renaldo wanted it completely silent, which aided me to keep Eli from trying to talk to me in class.

The bell rang, so I grabbed my bag and made my way to class. I sighed in relief when I made there before the warning bell and didn't see any of them. When I walked in, Mr. Renaldo was too busy trying to get a TV to work, so he didn't notice me make my way slowly to my seat.

Eli did though. The whole time I went through the process of sitting down, opening my backpack, taking my notebook out, and taking a pen out, I felt her hazel eyes boring into me the whole time. But no matter how tempted I was to look back and beg her for my forgiveness, I kept my eyes down and focused on anything but her.

"Okay class, may I have your attention please." Mr. Renaldo said. I looked up and noticed he finally got the TV working and the movie set up. The screen was paused on the move title, "_A Tale of Two Cities"_.

"Now, since most of you don't even bother to read any of the books in this class and rent the movie instead, I figured we would do just that." Mr. Renaldo said and looked like he was gong to say something else but the sound of the class' cheering and hollering cut him off.

"Class, please settle down!" He said and began again once everyone was quiet and settled. "But, we get to read the book after we finish the movie!"

The classes attitude did a complete one eighty and changed from it's cheerfulness to booing and yelling's of protest.

"And…" He began once again, "Make sure you take good notes on the movie because you will be doing a compare and contrast paper of the book and the 1935 film which we will began watching now. So take out those pens and notebooks, no talking, and pay attention."

With more groans coming from the class, Mr. Renaldo pushed the play and the old black and white film began.

About ten minutes into the movie, I felt something hit my arm. I looked down and saw a folded piece of paper sitting upon my desk. I didn't have to look over to the girl next to me to know that it came from her. I felt stupid for not thinking she would try this and I almost didn't open it and threw it back to her but I decided not to. So, I opened up the paper to reveal Eli's neat writing that read:

_Bella, what's going on? Why won't you talk to us?_

I grabbed my pen and wrote back:

_Please, just leave me alone!_

When I finished, I folded it back up and threw it back onto her desk when Mr. Renaldo wasn't looking. Not a moment later, I felt the paper hit my arm once again. I unfolded it and opened it:

_Bella, what the hell? We are not leaving you alone, especially not until you tell us what this is all about. Is it about Edward? If so, he's just upset that you chose not to stay with him. He was scared for you Bella, that's why he wanted you to stay with him. But he'll get over it, trust me. Alice and I will give him and good talking to. Please Bella, just let us be there for you._

God she's not making this any easier! Especially mentioning Edward and what happened. I felt horrible that he was so scarred about me that he wanted me to be there with him. And when I told him I didn't want to, it was probably like a slap in the face. I couldn't do this anymore, especially if she kept mentioning Edward. So I had to make her believe that I really didn't want to talk to them anymore. I picked my pen back up and wrote back:

_Please just stay out of it. I really don't want anything to do with any of you and you can tell the others that too so they will get off my back and leave me alone!_

I folded it up quickly and tossed it back over to her desk. This time, it seemed like she was taking longer to respond and I was scarred of what she was going to say next. When I finally got it back it read:

_Fine Bella, if you want to be like that then we will. Just know that you are making a big mistake and all you're going to do is cause pain for others. I really liked you Bella and thought I knew you well enough but I guess I was wrong. I didn't realize how mean and selfish you really are. Edward is like a brother to me, if you hurt him in any way, I will NEVER forgive you! Just remember that. And I will tell everyone else that you don't want anything to do with them as you so kindly put it. _

My eyes began to sting with tears as I kept re-reading her message. Her words hurt to no end but she was right, I was being selfish. But how else was I going to protect them? I love them all too much, especially Edward, and I don't know what I would do if one of them got hurt because of me. But if I tell her that I'm really doing all this to protect them, then she either won't believe me or she won't let me go through with it.

The bell rang suddenly, bringing me out of my thoughts. I wiped my eyes before Mr. Renaldo turned the lights back on and shoved the not into my notebook and began packing up my things.

"Alright everyone, we will continue with the movie tomorrow in class." Mr. Renaldo said in dismissal.

Everyone got up and headed to the door, but I took my time zipping up my bag and putting it over my shoulders. I knew Eli had already left since I heard her get up with a huff and was practically the first one out the door. I couldn't move faster though even if I wanted to. I felt like everything was moving in slow motion and I was going even slower than everyone and everything else. Was I making the right decision? God, I hope so.

Health and Algebra passed by quicker and a blur of nothingness. I couldn't tell you a single thing of what we had discussed in both classes. My mind was so out of it, I think my health teacher even called on me to answer a question but I didn't do anything but sit there and stare out the window. Obviously they gave up or I was just imagining things but I was too focused on what Eli had said in the letter. What if my pushing Edward away, hurts him too much and when and if all this is finally over with, he is too hurt to forgive me? What if he doesn't understand that I am doing this for his own good, to keep him safe the only way I can. But if he didn't forgive me, I think I would much rather have him a live and safe which is way more important to me than his forgiveness. And I do understand why Eli would not forgive me. She was right, her and Edward were like brother and sister, sometimes more so than him and Alice. He shared almost everything with Eli so I could see why she was being so protective of him. And I'm sure that if I was in her shoes, I would probably react the same way.

I was so lost in my confused and crazy thoughts, that I hadn't realized how close I was to the art building. My heart began to pound as I got closer and noticed Eli was standing outside the building with Brandon, the Cullen's, and Hales. They all looked like they were deep in conversation but as I got closer Eli looked up at me and glared which caused the rest to look up at me as well. I couldn't help but look as they all stared me down. Alice looked sad and was shaking her head at me along with Emmett. And Jasper, Rose, and Brandon all had similar glares that matched Eli's. As for Edward though, he wouldn't even look at me and kept his beautiful green eyes in a different direction.

With my heart beating even faster causing a slow aching pain in my chest and a lump forming in my throat, I quickened my pace as I walked by them and went through the art building door. I felt my breathing constrict and get stuck in my chest and I searched around wildly until I finally found the girls restroom. As soon as I got into a stall, I slammed the door shut, locked it, put the toilet seat lid down, and plopped on top. I let the painful sobs rip through my body as the image of my friends made its way back into my mind.

I rocked back and forth as the looks on all their faces tore down into my chest, causing the ache to burn even more. I thought I would never see those looks on the people I cared so much about. The looks of hate and disappointment were looks you never wanted to see on your friends faces, especially if they were directed at you. And then Edward, he just stood there looking in the opposite direction, as if he was too disgusted with me to even bare me a glance.

Placing my tear stained face in my hands, I cried, begged, and pleaded for everything to go back to normal so I wouldn't have to hurt them. But I knew that if I didn't, one of them could die because of me. And one thing is for sure, I am not worth the pain and I am definitely not worth dying over. But, I would die for them in a heartbeat. And if that day does come, I just hope that they see that I was only pushing them away for their own safety. To protect them from that crazy lunatic that was out to seek revenge and stop at nothing to get to me.

With a heavy sigh, I took my face out of my hands. I wonder how long I've been sitting in here. I grabbed my cell phone from my backpack pocket and looked at the time. Even though Kooky Mr. Warner was always late for his own class, I don't think he would appreciate it if I walked into his class a half an hour late, especially without a note. Plus, I probably didn't look so good. I could just picture my eyes all blood shot and puffy. My nose probably looked like Rudolph's and my cheeks would be all red and blotchy. What a pretty sight don't you think?

Deciding that I should at least try and do something to make my appearance look at least a little decent, I got up and left the stall. I looked at the mirror across from me and wasn't surprised that I looked exactly how I thought I would. I placed my backpack on top of the sink and turned the cold water on. Taking the water into both my hands, I splashed it on my face several times. The water felt refreshing on my warm face but I knew it would probably only do a little to help.

I stayed in the restroom until the bell sounded and left before I had the chance to run into anyone and made my way to the cafeteria to find a table to myself. If it wasn't so cold and drizzly out, I would find somewhere to sit outside. But, since this was Forks, that wasn't going to happen to I had to settle for the stuffy cafeteria instead. Thankfully I made it there without bumping into anyone (metaphorically and literally) and took my lunch of a chicken salad, a red apple, and a bottle of water to the table in the far back left. The same exact table I sat at on my first day here at Fork's High School.

I looked around and saw that there were only a few other kids scattered about the cafeteria. Most were probably just making there way here and some were probably meeting up with friends first (as my friends and I use to do). I felt so awkward and out of place sitting here at this table that I first claimed on my very first lonely and miserable day here. And look, to no surprise Ms. Bella Swan is sitting alone at the same exact table feeling the same exact way she did on her first day. Except, I felt ten timed worse. I felt like the scum of the earth, I felt like I was in on of those nightmares where you are surrounded by your friends and loved ones but they ignore you, as if you're not even there.

I pushed my tray away, feeling nauseous and not wanting to look at it, and looked around at all the happy friends chatting away with one another as if they didn't have a care in the world. As if they didn't have some crazy women coming after them and wanting to kill them. As if they didn't just push the ones they love away so that they could protect them from being harmed.

As that thought passed through my mind, I saw the ones I cared about walk through the door and heading towards the lunch line. I couldn't help but watch their every move. They all looked… happy. They looked like they normally did when we were all together. I guess it sounded selfish but it hurt me to think that maybe they really didn't care about me. Like losing me as a friend, wasn't that big of a deal and they moved on. I guess I just thought they would look as miserable as I did but I guess it's a good thing that they didn't. I got what I wanted. I pushed them away and by the looks of it, they want to stay away.

I watched as they all made their way over to the table we normally sat at (our table). I watched as Alice laughed at something Jasper said and then reached up on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek before she sat down. I watched and kind of giggled when Rose suddenly smacked Emmett on the back of his head (probably for something stupid he said). I watched as Eli sat down on the other side of Alice and started to talk to her animatedly about something. I watched as Brandon held Angela's hand and led her over to a spot at the table and pulled a seat out for her to sit. And I watched as… Edward sat down net to Eli, smiling that dazzling smile and then laughing about something Eli said.

This was what I wanted. This was what I wanted. This was what I wanted, kept playing over and over again in my head. I was so lost in watching them that I didn't notice the tears spilling down my face as I watched them all act as if I didn't even exist in their world.

I wiped my face quickly and grabbed my backpack. I didn't even bother to throw my lunch away; I just wanted to get far away from them as possible. I ran outside into the pouring rain. Of course, it just had to be POURING! But who cares? It's not like anyone's really going to notice the sopping wet girl anyway. I shivered and made my way over to a table that was under a large oak tree. The leaves and branches concealed most of the rain away from the table so I sat on top and brought my knees up to my chest. I place my head into my knees and cried for the second time that day. This has got to be on the worst days of my life. More worst than being in that dreadful parking lot with a knife at my neck. At least then I had wonderful friends and a loving boyfriend that I didn't even deserve.

Maybe that was it. Maybe they all realized that plain little Bella was not enough for them anymore. I didn't blame them if they felt that way. I sometimes felt like I didn't belong with such beautiful and amazing people. And I still did not feel like someone Edward could be with. I still pictured him with the Tanya type, but more beautiful and way smarter.

I jumped slightly at the sound of the bell ringing through out the grounds of the school. I was still a shivering mess and I felt soaked to bone. I started to shake even more when I realized that I had to sit next to Edward in my next class. What was I going to do? I knew I couldn't skip another class. If Charlie found out he would kill me.

I dropped down from the table and stood lightheaded on my feet and made my way to biology class as slow as a snail. I couldn't tell if it was my nerves but I was starting to feel kind of sick. But I brushed my shaking body, chattering teeth, aching limbs, nauseous stomach, pounding dizzy head, and racing heart to nerves and from being wet with rain and continued on my way to my dreaded class of the day, biology.

By the time I got there everyone was already in their seats (including Edward who was staring down at his folded hands a top the lab desk). His face was expressionless and held no signs of being angry or sad. I walked, still shaking away, and got to my seat as the warning bell rang. I sat down quickly which seemed to cause all the blood to rush to my head so I had to shut my eyes tightly as the world began to spin. I heard the stool next to me screech away from mine and I felt another pang in my chest as my slowly processing mind registered that Edward was scooting far away from me as possible. My little marry go round ride in my head stopped just seconds later so I took my backpack off and placed it on the floor, not wanting to get the table top wet. I crossed my arms across my chest hoping to bring some warmth to my shaking body. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Okay class, settle down. Today we will be doing a chapter review for our test this Friday." Mr. Banner said. "I will pass out these review sheets and you can fill them in with answers you can find from your text book and class notes."

With that said Mr. Banner started to walk around the class and passed out the papers. When he got to our table, he stopped suddenly and looked at me with a concern.

"Isabella, are you okay? You don't look so good." He asked handing us our review papers. I suddenly felt another pair of eyes on me coming from my left and I didn't want to turn and see what kind of expression he had on his face. I think I had enough hurt for one day.

Even though I felt like I was hit by a dump truck that decided to reverse and hit me again, I nodded my head yes to get the attention and haunting green eyes off of me.

"Okay, just let me know if you need to go see the nurse. You look awfully pale, are you sure you don't want to go now?" He asked.

Not trusting my voice, I just shook my head again. He said okay once again but didn't seem all to convinced as he walked away to another table. I still felt Edward's eyes on me, making my hands shake even more as I tried to take a pen and my biology book out of my bag.

"Alright class, does everyone have a paper?" Mr. Banner asked and then preceded, "Okay good. You guys can begin and you may help each other if you need help finding an answer but no talking off subject."

I sighed heavily and looked down at my paper and shakily wrote my name at the top. It came out even more like chicken scratch with the way I was shaking. And Edward wasn't helping that all too much. I kept feeling his glance once in a while but I was too much of a chicken to look back.

This continued for about twenty minutes. Him looking at me and me trying to hide from his gaze as I tried to focus on the words in the text in front of me.

But it seemed the more I tried to focus, the more the words blurred and my head hurt more from trying to focus on them. And then my stomach suddenly gave a nauseous lurch that made me drop my pen back down on my book. I knew what was about to happen as my mouth began to water so I stood up quickly and walked over to Mr. Banner and asked to use the restroom. He took one look at me and shoved a bathroom pass in my hands and opened the door as I ran out. I ran into the nearest girls' restroom and threw one of the stall doors open and dropped to my knees in front of the toilet as my stomach heaved. Nothing was coming up but it felt like everything in my gut would end up in toilet. After a few minutes of dry heaving, my stomach finally started to calm down. I stood up shakily on my feet and turned around. I jumped about fifty feet in the air when a girl named Kaitlen from my biology class was standing there with a nauseous look of her own.

"Sorry to scare you Bella. Mr. Banner sent me to make sure that you were alright." She said with a small smile. "From the looks and sounds of it, I would say you're not."

I shook my head a little, not wanting to agitate my dizzy lightheaded head, and walked over to the sink to splash some cool water on my face. When I was done I looked back up at her and said with a little laugh, "With the way I feel right now, I would say I'm not either."

"We should head back so you can go to the nurse." She said and opened the door for me. I walked out with her and we both walked quietly back to class. When we got back, Kaitlen walked up to Mr. Banner with me.

"I found her heaving into a toilet." She said to Mr. Banner with a little laugh and I blushed as I felt the class looking at us. "If you want I could walk with Bella to the nurses' office?"

"Yes, I think that would be best. Hold on a sec." Mr. Banner said as he opened a drawer to his desk and pulled out a piece of paper. "Here's a hall pass for you Kaitlin and I'm writing a note on her for the nurse to excuse Bella from class."

The whole time he was writing the note, I had my back to the class and I kept feeling that familiar stare. I don't know why he finds me interesting to look at all of a sudden while this morning he could care less.

"Okay, you guys are all set." Mr. Banner said and handed Kaitlen the note and then looked at me. "Well Isabella, gather up your stuff and I hope you feel better. Just finish up the review paper for homework and that should be it."

"O-okay… thanks." I said hoarsely. Kaitlen walked over with me to my table to help get my things. During the whole process of putting my notebook, book, and pen into my backpack that Kaitlen was holding open for me, I felt Edward's intense stare almost protruding through my back. But, I couldn't dare bring myself to look back at him.

After I stuck my book in, Kaitlen zipped up my backpack and handed it to me. I was about to say thanks when I noticed she was looking and smiling at the person next to me. And dummy me, I turned to look at the one person I was trying my hardest to avoid looking at and the ache in my chest that was still prominent made its self even more so ten fold. Edward was smiling his dazzling smile that made me melt all over, but what made my heart ache was his dazzling smile that I fell so much in love with, was directed at the girl who was smiling back at him. I almost threw up all over again (even though I really didn't before) and wanted to run away from him as fast as possible before the ache exploded in my chest. I moved around Kaitlen quickly and made my way to the door. I felt a presence behind me and was surprised that Kaitlen even bothered to follow with the way she was staring down Edward. They both seemed lost in one another, as if I wasn't even there so why she would want to follow me, I had no idea.

"Uh-oh, you don't have to barf again do you?" I heard Kaitlen ask as she tried to catch up with my quick strides.

"NO." Was all I said as I headed in no direction on particular. My heart felt like it was breaking, my stomach was tied in knots, my head felt like it had its own pulse, and my whole body felt like it was being poked and prodded by fingers. I wanted nothing more than to just curl up under my covers and never come out.

"Okay… well the nurse's office is in the other direction." She said a little put out. I stopped and looked at her. She was looking at her feet shyly with an upset look on her face. Oh great, here comes the guilt trip. Why can't I be normal? I felt guilty for upsetting a girl who was staring down my man like she wanted to mark him as her own.

"Oh… can you show me where it is please?" I asked a little bit nicer that my NO. "I don't remember where it is."

"Sure, follow me." She said her mood a little but chipper.

About a minute later we walked through the doors of a building near the front office. Kaitlen led me over to a woman behind a desk with short black hair that looked to be in her mid forties. She was staring intently at the lab top in front of her.

"Hey Mrs. Reed, I have a sick one for you." Kaitlen said as we got to the desk.

The woman, Mrs. Reed, finally looked up from her lab top and looked over at me. "Oh my, you look as white as sheet. Come on in." She said as she stood up and walked over to a door at the side.

"Mr. Banner had me give this to you." Kaitlen said, as she handed her the hall pass. She took it and read it quickly before she gave it back to her.

"Okay sweetie, tell Mr. Banner thanks for me." She said, opening the door and gesturing for me to walk through.

"Will do Mrs. Reed, hope you feel better Bella." Kaitlen said before she turned to leave. Leave to go back to my Edward.

"Okay, Bella. You're pale and from what Mr. Banner said, you've been throwing up as well. Do you have any more symptoms?" She asked as I sat down on a med bed.

After going through all my symptoms, she took my temperature which happened to be 102 degrees. She then told me that I most likely had the flu and she would excuse me from the rest of my classes so I could go home, get rest, and drink plenty of fluids. She also told me to try and eat something and since I hadn't eaten anything all day, it wasn't helping me my symptoms any.

She handed me a note of excusal and told me to get better. I thanked her and walked out and headed to the front office to give them the note from the nurse. After that was done, I walked out into the wet parking lot to get into my truck and head home.

Once I was home, I hung my coat up and then headed up to my room to change into warm and dry clothes. My whole body felt like I had weights strapped to every single one of my muscles and the aching in my chest still wanted to rip and explode a giant whole through my heart.

After I found a pair of sweats and a long sleeve shirt, I crawled into my warm covers and made a little cocoon of warmth. I was too exhausted to move anymore and I was too exhausted to think anymore. With everything that had happened today weighing down on me, I shut my eyes and let myself slip into and endless sea of darkness. A darkness where I could not see my friends that I loved and care so deeply about, giving me looks of hate and disgust. A darkness where I could not see Edward ignoring me and smiling and flirting with another girl. And a darkness where I could not see a red headed woman that had a giant knife aimed directly over Edward's beating heart.

**AN: There you have it. Well, what did you all think? I hope I'm not getting to crazy with the plotting here so please let me know if you like where this is headed! **

**Review! Review! Review! Review! Please and thank you :) **


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Hello there! Here's yet another installment to Unexpected Love. In this chapter, you get to read how Alice became a part of the Cullen family. So, if you are interested than please read on and let me know what you think! PLEASEEEEE! **

Ch. 20

"Bella?" I looked up from my Romeo and Juliet book to see Charlie standing in the doorway of my room. Once he saw that he had my attention, he walked in and sat next to me on my bed.

"How you feeling today kiddo?" He asked as he reached out and touched my forehead with the back of his hand.

It was now Wednesday evening, two days after I left school early because of the flu and I still felt like I was hit by a two ton truck. I still haven't been able to eat or drink much of anything in fear that it would just end up in the porcelain bowl in the bathroom. I had become quiet good friends with it the last couple of days but, it's not a friend I really want frequent visits from.

And speaking of friends, despite all that's been going on, Alice has pretty much filled up my voicemail and inbox again with messages of wondering how I was feeling and how much she missed me already. Damn that Alice! Why does she have to be the sweetest person on earth? I basically threw her friendship in her face but she still considers me a friend and worries to death about me. All the others could probably care less so I don't know why she's trying to hang on to our friendship so drastically. It's not like we've been best friends for most of our lives, heck it hasn't even been a year yet! But still, she is trying to be there for me calling me to see if I needed some nice hot soup, help with my school work, or even if I just wanted a little company. I craved for her company and everyone else's but if I caved in then I will only be putting all of them in danger. I knew what I was doing to them was wrong, but it was also right in the sense that I won't have to see any of them hurt. At least, I hope so.

I sighed heavily and put the book flat down on my chest and cleared my scratchy throat to answer Charlie's question, "I feel a little better since Monday but I still don't feel too great."

"Yeah, you still feel kind of feverish and you're still pretty pale looking. Have you eaten anything at all?" He asked looking a little worried. Poor thing has been fussing over me before and after he gets off of work. He even stopped by my school on his lunch break to pick up my school assignments.

"No, I just drank water and a little ginger ale but not much." I said as I sat up a bit in the bed and looked at my alarm clock to see the time. My lower back felt like someone decided to tap dance all over it. "You're home a little later than usual."

"I know, I stopped by the store to pick you up a couple of cans of soup." He said rubbing the back of his head. I blanched a little at the sound of canned soup. I love soup but not when it comes in a can and especially when I'm sick and nauseated already. I didn't want to tell him that though, he went out of his way to get it for me already. He must have noticed the nauseated look on my face because he continued, "But, you don't have to eat them right now, just let me know when your stomach is feeling a little better to eat. This stuff is probably going to last a while. A couple of men down at the station have been out with it and from what I hear it sounds like a pretty nasty bug. You should probably stay home tomorrow as well."

"Yeah, it feels pretty nasty. More than nasty, it feels like I'm on my death bed!" I said and made him chuckle, "but thanks for the soup dad. And I don't think I could even if I wanted to."

"No problem." He said with a little smile, "Well, I'm going to let you get some more rest. I'll be down stairs if you need anything just holler at me."

"I will." I said and picked up my book to continue reading. "Thanks again."

He nodded his head and got up to leave. I wondered if he bought himself something to eat as well. I felt so bad for not being able to cook a decent meal for him for the last couple of days and hoped he wasn't back to his usual eating out at the dinner routine.

I read another paragraph when I felt my eyelids start to go heavy so, I marked my page and sat the book down on my bedside table and reached over to turn my little lamp off. I rolled on my side and closed my eyes and waited for sleep to come. Just before the darkness took me over I heard the sound of the doorbell and then I was out like a light headed to the land of dreams and prayed that none of them would be of Edward.

Several hours later, I woke with a start and jumped up into a sitting position on my bed. My breathing was ragged, my heart was racing, my head was pounding, tears streaked my face and I was soaked with sweat from head to toe. All the tall tale signs of a nightmare and what a nightmare it had been.

I looked around my room to see that it was still pretty dark and saw that the blue glowing numbers on my alarm clock read 5:47am. I took a deep breathe and laid back down, pressing a clammy hand to my damp forehead as memories of the dream came creeping back on me.

It started off the same; me in the meadow, Edward walking out, Victoria appearing behind him with a knife, Victoria attempting to stab Edward. But just before the knife plunged I didn't wake up like I normally did. The dream changed and I was at school walking down a hallway. Every student I walked by stopped what they were doing and gave me a glare worthy of Eli's. I couldn't understand what was going on. They all just stopped and stared. Some even turned to the person next to them and whispered something to them. I caught some of the things they were saying. "_Have you heard what she did?" "Can you believe they actually trusted HER?" What a loser, who would even want to be friends with someone like her anyway?" "I hope she gets what she deserves." "They all hate her now." "What Edward saw in her, I would never know."_

I felt a sense of panic rise in my chest as all the whispering continued as I walked down the hallway. I felt like turning around and running but my feet had minds of their own and kept walking. I looked at the end and saw a large group of people standing there, almost like they were waiting for me. But I could not make out who they were because their whole image was blurred.

When I finally reached them, the blurriness cleared and I gasped as I realized who they were. Edward, Alice, Eli, Brandon, Emmett, Rose, Jasper, Angela, Mike, and Kaitlen from biology (who I noted was standing right next to Edward with his arm wrapped around her.) But that wasn't all. Even Charlie, Renee, Phil, Esme, and Carlisle were all standing there looking at me with such disappointment that I wanted nothing more than to find a deep dark hole and crawl in it.

Edward, who was standing directly in the middle dividing my friends on one and the parents on the other, finally spoke, "Bella, I don't want you anymore. I found someone who suits me much better then you ever could. She's smarter, more beautiful, and I don't have to be embarrassed of being seen with her."

I looked at him stunned as my heart constricted painfully in my chest and felt my vision blur with tears. I opened my mouth to speak but all's that came out was a stuttered "B-But…"

"I'm sorry Bella. You were nothing more to me than a diversion from Tanya. I needed someone to get rid of her and since you came along I figured I'd use you. If I had known how much of a wonderful person Kaitlen was, then I would have never of bothered with you in the first place." He said with a sly smirk gracing his perfect lips. I felt my knees go week, wanting to collapse as I took in all of what he was telling me. I let the tears fall, not knowing what to say and not knowing if I could even speak in the first place.

"He's not the only one who feels that way." I heard Alice say. I looked over at her hate filled face as she continued, "None of us really liked you in the first place. We were all just being nice so Tanya would leave Edward alone. But, now that he has found his someone he truly loves, we don't need to be nice anymore."

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, we don't even want you here." Eli said. Even more tears were starting to fall to the point that they were blinding my vision of them.

"You are nothing but a pathetic waste of space." Said Rosalie and Emmett finished with, "Why don't you save us all the trouble and just leave?"

All of them nodded their heads in agreement as they stared down the girl that was trying her hardest to keep the sobs in. Even Charlie and Renee were agreeing with them! I understand what I did to them was horrible but this; this was a whole new chapter. They were telling me my worse fear. None of them ever wanted to be friends with me in the first place. And Edward, I knew he was too perfect and too good to be true. Why would he love someone like me?

"What's the matter Bella?" Kaitlen said smiling evilly at me as Edward kissed her on the cheek, causing another painful ripple to go through my chest. "Isn't this what you wanted, everyone to leave you alone and to not want to be friends with you anymore? Well, you got your wish. Trust me; they won't be bothering you now. Especially Edward."

And with that said, Edward looked at her and gave her his famous crooked smile before devouring her lips with his.

That's when I finally woke up and now here I am, still trying to calm my beating heart and wanting nothing more than to rid the images of that wounding dream from my memory. What Kaitlen said was true though wasn't it? Isn't this what I wanted? For them to move on from me so they wouldn't have to risk getting hurt?

My brain was so exhausted from the nightmare and my thoughts, that the darkness soon crept its way back in.

When I awoke once more, I was relieved that I didn't have any more nightmares. Instead, my dreams were utterly ridiculous to the point I started to question my own sanity. Who the hell dreams about trying to find Scooby Doo? I rolled over to look at my clock and saw it read 9:15am. I also noticed a note from Charlie sitting next to a water glass and two Ibuprofen. When I reached for the note, I also noticed there was an envelope with my name scrawled across it in familiar handwriting. I decided to read the note from Charlie first.

_Hey Bells, I came in to check on you before I left for work this morning but you were still sleeping _(Obviously, I thought with a chuckle) _and I didn't want to disturb you. I left a couple of Ibuprofen by your water. You felt kind of warm so I would take them and maybe try to eat a little something. Also, Alice stopped by last night with a pot of home made chicken noodle soup and a letter she wanted me to give you. So, if you get hungry or want to try to eat, I put the pot in the fridge. Well, see you later and hope you feel better. If you need anything, just ring down to the station. _

I sighed, and looked over at the envelop sitting atop my table. I was surprised that she actually came by to bring me soup after I ignored every one of her messages. She definitely was not making any of this easier!

I laid there in my bed for probably a good half an hour just staring at the envelope debating on weather I should read it our not. Finally, I caved in and reached a shaky hand over to the envelope. Once I got it, I opened it up, took a deep breath and grabbed the lengthy letter out of the envelope and read;

_Dearest Bella, _

_I hope it didn't take you too long to decide whether to open and read this, _(How the hell does she know these things? I swear she's psychic!) _but I figured maybe this was the only way to communicate with you since your phone seems to be astoundingly broken (place sarcasm here). I just wanted to let you know that I think what you are doing is completely wrong. I know you don't really want to push us away like you are doing, so please don't. We miss you so much Bella and want nothing more to be friends again. _

_We all wish we knew why you were doing this in the first place. Did we do something to upset you? If so, then please let us know. We want to make whatever we might have done to you right. And if this is about Edward still and you are worried about what we might think, then you have nothing to worry about. If you and Edward decide never to talk again (which I hope will never happen) I will not hold anything against you and I will still want to be friends with you. _

_I know we haven't known each other very long but I feel you are already a part of this family and circle of friends. It feels like you've been here with us as long as we've all been here and I am glad to say that you are like a sister to me. That's why I can't lose our friendship Bella. _

_I've never told you why I was adopted by the Cullen's have I? Well, I will begin to tell you about my early years. I was born in Biloxi, Mississippi. My biological parent's names were Robert and Melissa Brandon. They named me Mary Alice Brandon but somehow Alice stuck better with me than Mary did so I've basically been going by Alice instead (I always thought it was prettier anyway). I had a younger sister who was born about two years after me, her name was Cynthia but we all called her Cindy or Cinderella for fun. Even though she was younger, we were very close to one another and told each other everything. We even made a pact that we would never let anything get in between us. _

_Anyway, something happened to break that pact. When I was eleven years old, my mother got really sick with cancer. She put on a struggle but sadly after two years, she could fight it no longer. We were such a close family, we did everything together. When she passed, it tore us all a part. Cindy and I hardly ever talked to one another and my father kept himself busy with his work or locked away in his room with a bottle of liquor. He was never a drinking man but he took it up as soon as my mother passed. Like I said, it tore us apart. _

_On my fourteenth birthday, my dad let me go out with some friends to see a movie (probably just glad to get me out of the house). Normally Cindy would go with me but she really wasn't into hanging out with me anymore so my dad dropped me off. After the movie was over, I called my dad to let him know that I was ready to go home. He slurred an "ok" and hung up. I waited for hours outside that theater and called him several times to see if he was coming but he never showed up. So, even though it was pretty far, I decided to walk thinking he probably fell a sleep and Cindy was just ignoring my calls. I was about half way home when I came across a nasty looking accident at an intersection. It looked like they had already taken the people to the hospital and there were only a couple of police officers around the scene. As I got closer, I realized there were two cars, one that was a pick up truck with slight damage and another car that looked completely demolished and wrapped around a light pole. And as I got closer, I was able to recognize the demolished car. It was my dads white Cadillac. I knew it was his because it had a "Worlds Greatest Dad" bumper sticker that Cindy and I got him for father's day from our winter trip to New Orleans. I didn't know what to do; I just stood there staring at the car. One of the police officers noticed me and came up to tell me to keep it moving but I think he realized that something was wrong because he called over to the other officer and told him to radio for another ambulance because I was going into shock. _

_It was all pretty blurry from then on until I woke up in the hospital. Children's services came to talk to me and tell me that my father was driving drunk and ran through a red light, causing the truck to T-bone him into a light pole. I won't trouble you with more details and I am sure you can guess that he died in the accident. But, despite that, it wasn't the worst part of the news. I loved my father greatly, but I knew he was ok and happy now to be wherever my mother was. So, this news did not upset me greatly, it was the news that my sister had also been in the car at the time and she had also died in the accident. _

_I could not sleep for days; my sister was like my better half. When she passed, it was like a part of me went with her. Thoughts of her would not stop running through my head. I kept thinking things like why did she have to die? She'll never be able to learn how to drive a car, graduate high school, go off to college, find her true love, get married, have kids, and grow old while having lived a long and happy life. I was depressed for months and was staying at a foster home with five other kids. One night, I snuck out to sit on the back porch to just sit and think when I swear to you Bella, I don't know what it was but it was kind of like a vision or something. I blanked out and all of a sudden I saw my sister sitting next to me, telling me that everything was going to be okay and that I will find happiness again and that everything that had happened was meant to be. She told me how much she loved me and how sorry she was for distancing herself from me. But, she said that the empty feeling would soon go away, and will be placed with love by others. _

_I didn't want to believe her because it felt like nothing could ever make that feeling go away. But, she was right. A few weeks later, I was moved to another foster home out here in Fork's. I was told that a family there saw my file and wanted to fly me out so they could meet me. I had no clue how they found out about me since I lived all the way in Mississippi, but the day after I stayed in the foster home, a social worker came to the house with a couple looking to adopt. It was Carlisle and Esme and they were looking for someone who was close in age as their adopted son. I fell in love with them immediately. They were so kind and loving and for some reason I knew I was meant to be with them. _

_So, that leads me to where I am today, with a loving family and friends to surround me. I still feel that ache for my sister of course but I know that what she said was true and that everything is okay. And even though I have two amazing brothers now that I care about more than anything as well, our relationship can never add up to that of two sisters. And that's what I feel about you Bella. You are like a sister to me and I can not lose another one! I know you are probably saying in that stubborn pretty little head of yours that I have Eli and Rose, but do you want to know a secret that I haven't told anyone? Well, technically you know two because I never told anyone about that night on the porch but anyway, I think I kind of knew you were coming here to Fork's. Just like that night, except it happened when I was sleeping, I saw my sister again. She didn't say anything to me but just showed me a vision of someone's face, your face Bella. Now, I don't want to creep you out or anything but I swear I saw you and when I did I knew that she was telling me that you were also going to be a big part of my life as well. And you ARE!_

_I love you Miss Isabella Marie Swan, so please don't push our friendship away. You mean so much to me and my family. Esme and Carlisle already think you as a one of theirs and even though he acted like a jerk, Edward loves you very much and is worried about you. So please, call me, text me, write me, come over and talk, or whatever but please, just talk to me. I promise I won't threaten you with shopping! But, if it comes down to it, I just might. Well, I better go start on my homework. I bet I wrote more to you than I'm going to even attempt to on my history essay. I hope you like the soup Esme and I made for you! She always makes it for us when we're sick and it's too damn good to even think about throwing it back up again. I miss you and hope to talk to you soon. Love ALWAYS, Alice._

_PS. You, Jasper, and my family are the only ones who really know why I was adopted by the Cullen's. I never really felt comfortable enough yet to tell Rose and Eli but that shows just how much I trust you Bella. Hope you feel better enough to come back over soon! Miss you!_

I sat there in shock after reading and re-reading and re-re-reading the letter several times. Because of it being a lot to take in, it took my slow brain even slower to process everything and when I finally did, I broke down into a weeping mess. I couldn't believe that something so terrible could happen to such a sweet girl. I also could not believe how much she truly cared for me to not give up on our friendship. She truly is amazing, but how could I put her into jeopardy of getting hurt or killed? And how could I deny her a sister companion like she once had when she was younger? I don't think I could make her go through that again. But, what if she did anyway? What if I did decide to talk to her again and we get even closer but I end up getting killed by this crazy psycho person? I would be putting her in the same place she was in when she was fourteen. I would be a monster to put someone like her through that again.

But, either way I'd be a monster if I still kept ignoring all her attempts to talk to me. She definitely did not deserve to die, but she didn't deserve to be treated the way she had been either. And it made me cry even harder when I realized how much trust she did put in me. ME! Someone who hasn't even been in her life longer than Eli and Rose have. She told me things that she's never even told them. And I know in my heart that I can trust Alice with my life so maybe I should talk to her. Tell her why I've been pushing everyone away and then maybe she can get a better understanding. Hell, maybe she could give me a better understanding of what I'm doing and knowing Alice, she probably could. I took a deep ragged breathe and wiped the tears from my eyes and face. I made up my mind; I will talk to Alice and tell her about everything. She deserves that much at least.

I sat the letter back down on my bedside table and took the two Ibuprofen that Charlie had left for me. I was still pretty achy and had the chills but that could have also been from being shaken up from Alice's letter. My stomach was still a little nauseous but I figured it should be about time to at least try to eat a little something and Alice's soup did sound yummy.

After a couple of attempts of trying to stand up and falling back down on the bed, I finally got up and made my way down the stairs with shaky legs. By the time I finally made it to the kitchen, I was pretty lightheaded and winded but all thoughts of that were gone when I realized that something was wrong. I could feel it in the atmosphere; it was like a think cloud hanging over the entire kitchen. I looked around trying to figure out why it felt that way and I froze in fear when I saw glass shattered all over the floor next to the back door (which was open by a crack). The first thought running through my head was obviously someone broke in. And my second was, was this person still here in the house? And my third and last thought before my vision began to spin and turn into darkness was… Victoria.

**AN: Well, there you have it. I know it's a big cliffy but I felt it was the right spot to stop at. Hope you all enjoyed it! Please give me some feed back on this! I'm getting really discouraged on continuing with this story because of the lesser reviews I've been getting. Reviews help out so much, they let me know that there are people out there who really are reading this. So PLEASE, review! Thank you! :) **

**PS: MERRY CHRISTMAS!**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: Hello everyone! Just wanted to give a shout out to those who reviewed on the last chapter! You guys are awesome! Hope everyone had a Happy New Year now here's the next chapter, I hope you all like! :D **

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight although I would so love to own Edward ;)

Ch. 21

Fog. I never really cared much for the stuff. I don't really know anyone who could say that they did, but I sure as hell did not and yet here I was. In a hazy fog that seemed to cloud my vision in white and numb my limbs from my head down to my toes. I couldn't remember why I was there or how I even got there, but I had a feeling that I needed to get away from it, and fast. Something inside of my brain was yelling at me to wake up and get a grip on things so I willed myself and pushed myself trying to escape the thick fog that clouded up my mind.

Soon enough, the whiteness started to escape my vision as it slowly turned into black. Then, I began to feel a prickly sensation make its way through my entire body sending that pens and needles feeling as if my whole entire body had fallen asleep. As the sensation started to makes its way back slowly through my body, I began to feel a dull ache on the back of my head. But as more and more of the sensation started to come back into my body, the ache turned into full on pain causing me to squeeze my eyes tighter together. I also realized that instead of feeling the warmth and cushiness of my bed, I felt something hard and very cool to the touch.

Why does it feel like my head is going to explode? And why does it feel like I am lying down on a hard cold floor? My eyes suddenly found that they could function again because I was able to open them at a crack at first. That's when I realized that I really was lying down on the floor, the kitchen floor. And that's when everything came rushing back to me. Alice's letter, coming down stairs to eat, walking into the kitchen, seeing broken glass on the floor, back door being open, Victoria, Victoria, Vic- I sat up quickly causing myself to wince in pain as a sharp pang hit me on the back of the head. I must have smacked my head on the floor or something when I fainted. The pain was making me severely dizzy but I sat there for a second trying to calm my ragged breathes, nauseous stomach and ease the pain away.

When it all finally subsided enough for me to open my eyes, I looked around to make sure that I was in fact in the kitchen. Yep, I was right next to the kitchen table where I was standing before. I reached my hand up to the back of my head to feel a hard lump forming where I smacked it on the floor and was thankful that I could not feel any blood.

After doing my little assessment of myself, and making sure I had no other injures, I placed my hands on top of the kitchen table and used it to pull myself up into a standing position. Once there, I tried calming my shaky breathes as my head spun once again and I willed myself not to pass out. Gosh Bella, get a grip! If Victoria is here then you are giving her plenty of chances to get you. You need to calm down enough so you can call Charlie! I started making my way on shaky limbs to the phone hanging on the kitchen wall a few meters away. I hoped and prayed that Victoria had already left if she was the one responsible for the break in because right now I was nothing more than a sitting duck.

When I got to the phone I gripped at the counter for extra support and reached for the receiver hoping that this wasn't going to turn out like some horror movie and all's I would hear was dead silence on the other end. I put the receiver to my ear and I was never more relieved to hear that annoying dialing tone in my entire life. I quickly dialed my dad's number for the station and waited for him to answer.

"Fork's Police Station, this is Chief Swan." I was so relieved to hear his voice on the other end.

"Dad!" I crocked out in a whisper. My voice sounded like I was on the brink of death so I did not blame Charlie for sounding worried.

"Bella? What's the matter? Are you okay?" He rushed out in a panic.

"Dad, I think someone broke into the house." I whispered, making sure that if the person was still in the house, they hopefully could not hear me talking on the phone.

"Wh- What? What do you mean Bella?" He asked his panic sounding like it was rising. I explained everything from finding the glass, passing out, and just woken back up.

"And I don't…" I was cut off when I heard a loud scraping noise that sounded like it was coming from somewhere upstairs. The noise made my heart skip a beat and made it pound so hard and loud that I hoped whoever made that noise could not hear it.

"Dad… I think the person is still in the house!" I frantically whispered into the receiver and jumped when I heard another loud scraping noise coming from somewhere else upstairs.

"Are you sure?" He asked sternly.

"Yes! I can hear them making noises upstairs!" Just when I said this, I heard a loud banging noise causing me to jump once again.

"Okay Bella, you need to get out of the house!" He said, "I want you to walk over to the neighbors and let them know what's going. I am on my way right now Bella so please try to get out as quickly and quietly as you can."

"Okay" I said shakily and hung up the phone. I took a deep breathe and started to make my way as quickly and quietly as I could to the back door. I was almost there when I heard loud footsteps making their way down the staircase. The sound made me freeze with fear but as the sounds were getting closer to the bottom of the staircase, I could tell that whoever it was, it was a woman. I could distinctly make out the loud clicking noises of someone wearing high heels as the foot steps kept getting closer and closer to the bottom. A tall woman with fiery red hair and wearing high heels appearing in my mind caused a rush of adrenaline to go through me so I took that chance and I ran out the back door and towards my neighbors' house, only managing to stumble a couple of times on the way.

Once I got there I pounded on the front door until a middle aged woman with graying brown hair and green eyes opened the door in a rush.

"Can I help you?" She asked with wide eyes.

After I caught my breath I answered, "Someone broke into our house next door and whoever did is still in it. My dad is on his way right now."

"Oh my, you're Bella aren't you?" She asked and opened her door wider, "Come on in sweetie."

I rushed in and was only somewhat relieved to hear the clicking noises of the front door closing and locking. I turned around to see my neighbor looking out the window towards my house.

"Well, so far I don't see anyone coming out of it. The best thing we can do right now is wait for your dad. And don't worry about any of the other doors and windows; I know they are all locked so we should be fine. And if not, I'll grab my husband's old riffle." She said and turned around to look at me. Her eyes grew wide and she said, "Oh my, you don't look so good. Come into the living room here and you can lie down on the couch."

I just nodded my head as I followed her into the other room. She stood by the couch, waiting for me as I slowly made my way over as most of the adrenaline started to wear off. When I reached the couch, I laid down while my neighbor grabbed a throw from the back of the couch and covered me with it.

"There you go." She said and sat down on an arm chair next to the couch. "I'm Laura by the way."

"Thanks Laura." I said with a shaky smile as the chills started to hit me once again.

She smiled back softly and replied, "Something tells me you don't look this way because of the stranger in your house. You must have that nasty flu that's been going around."

"Yep, ever since Monday." I said and cuddled the throw closer to me to keep warm. I prayed my dad would get here soon.

"Well, I could make you some tea while we are waiting for your dad. Would you like some?" Laura asked.

"No thank you. I don't think I can really drink anything right now with my nerves and being sick." I said.

"I understand. If you need anything just let me know." She said with a smile and then her faced turned into a serious expression before she asked, "So, what exactly went on over there?"

I explained everything to her like I did to Charlie and told her all about Victoria as well. She had the most shocked expression on her face and I worried it would freeze that way forever.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear all that. I can't believe someone would want to do something to harm you so maliciously." She said, still looking quiet shocked.

"Well, I was basically the one who got her boyfriend killed so I guess I could see were she's coming from." I said as Edward's face popped into my mind. I almost wished it hadn't because the awful dream of him and Kaitlen popped up as well. I still could not get the image of him kissing her out of my mind and every time I thought about it, it would send a painful ripple though my middle.

"Still, you weren't the one with the gun." She said and sighed, "But this world wouldn't be crazy if we didn't have any crazies living in it now would we?"

"No, I would say not." I said with a slight chuckle. Laura opened her mouth as if she was going to say something but closed it suddenly when the sounds of sirens started off in the distance.

"Your dad's here." She said with a slight smile, "But I would wait for him to come here, just in case the 'psycho' as you put it is still out there."

"Oh, I will be." I said and I watched as Laura got up to look out of the living room widow.

"Well, your dad is here with what looks like most of Forks Washington Police Station." She said as she continued looking out the window, "Look's like he's coming over here first."

She walked over to the front door and unlocked it just as Charlie knocked on the door. She opened it and I could hear him frantically ask, "Mrs. Wood is Bella here?"

"Yes Charlie, she's right through here." She said and I watched as she opened the door wider and motioned for him to come in.

I saw Charlie rush in like a tornado and once he looked towards my direction on the couch; his face that was already filled with worried seemed to double once he caught a look of me.

"Oh my god… Bella are you alright?" He asked and bent down to my level as his eyes roamed around me searching for some kind of injury.

"I'm fine. Just pretty shaken up and still feeling sick." I said and tried to smile a little to ease some of the worry from his expression. But, it didn't seem to work.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again, "I can get an ambulance out here to take a look at you."

"No Dad, I'm fine. I don't need an ambulance, I just want to go back home and get some rest. I'm getting pretty tired." I said and yawned. It was true though. It seemed like all of the days events seemed to suck any energy I had left from the flu (if I even had any) and now I feel like I could sleep for days.

"Okay." He said, not looking any bit convinced than before, "I want you to lay here and rest than while I go and check up on the boys outside and see what they found. I also called up the deputies from Port Angeles and they should be coming to check it out as well."

He then turned around to look at Laura, "Mrs. Wood, you don't mind if Bella stays here for a while do you? It's probably going to be a while until they finish up at the house and plus we have to wait on the Port Angeles deputies as well and I don't want Bella in the house while this is going on."

"Sure, not a problem Charlie. You know you don't have to ask I was going to suggest it anyway." She said with a warm smile.

"Thank you." He said with a nod of his head then turned back to me, "Bella, are you going to be alright here? I know your still not feeling very well and want to be at home in your own bed resting but I think it's best to stay here."

"It's fine, I probably couldn't move right now even if I wanted to." I said which cause him to chuckle a bit.

"Alright, I'll be right next door if you need anything and I will come over in a bit to check up on you." He said and stood up at full height.

"Okay, see you later dad. And be careful." I said as I snuggle closer to the throw blanket.

"Always am." He said and turned around to walk back out the front door as Laura closed it behind him.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like anything to drink Bella?" She asked as she came back into the living room.

"Um… a glass of water would be nice." I said and yawned.

"Alright dear, I'll be right back." She said and walked off down a hallway.

I sighed deeply and shut my eyes. I knew that I should have been in full panic mode worrying about the psychotic red head who was just inside my house and probably could have killed me if she wanted to, but my brain was so tired and with the flu still upon me, I could not even bring myself to want to think about it any further. So, with another deep sigh I fell asleep before Laura came back into the living room with my glass of water.

I was in the middle of dreaming about some wild and hyper bunny rabbit trying to chase me around the parking lot of the high school and not letting me get into my truck, when I was suddenly woken up to a loud pounding noise. I jerked up from my laying position to see Laura rushing to the door and yelling at whomever it was that she was coming.

"Can I help yo- excuse me!" Laura said as someone seemed to push their way through her front door. My heart started to hammer through my rib cage as I imagined a fiery red headed woman come through the door but I was surprised instead to see a short pixie girl with short black hair push her way from Laura who was trying to keep her away from the living room. She's nuts if she thinks she can hold Alice back.

"Bella!" Alice shrieked as she ran towards me. She got down on her knees and I was suddenly clutched in her arms as she ranted hysterically, "Oh my God! I was so worried! Carlisle and I came by to bring you some more homework…"

"Alice…" I tried to start but she cut back in. I knew it was probably smart to let her finish her rant so I sat there quietly as she continued to clutch onto me like I was once a lost doll she finally found.

"And when we got here we couldn't get anywhere near your house because the whole street is blocked off with police cars! Charlie saw me and when he did I asked him what was going on and then he told me all about how you passed out and Victoria possibly being in the house and he told me you were over here resting so I ran over here as fast as I could so now here I am and here you are looking like death is stalking you and I just hope you are okay. Are you okay? Do you want me to go get Carlisle?" She asked as she finally stopped and pulled back to look at me. The pure worry and tears streaking her face made my guilt for ignoring her weigh down on me like a two ton semi truck.

"I take it you know this little fireball?" Laura asked me shaking her head slightly and shut the front door.

"Yes." I said with a smile and looked back at Alice. "No I don't need your dad, I'm fine Alice. Just tired and still feeling pretty sick. But it has nothing to do with Victoria."

She looked at me skeptically (why does everyone look at me like that?) and said, "Okay, but I think that Carlisle should just do a look over. Especially since you're still so sick and you feel like your whole body is on fire."

She leant back all the way and felt my forehead with the palm of her hand, "Yep, you are hot Bella."

"The Ibuprofen must be wearing off." I said and laid back down. "But I don't think I need Carlisle."

"Please Bella, for me? What if there is something terribly wrong with you? What if when you hit your head when you fell, you got a concussion – don't you look at me that way Bella. Charlie told me you hit your head so please just let Carlisle look at you?" She asked and I couldn't help but chuckle and feel a warm sensation in my heart. I've missed Alice so much and I was so glad to see her and talk to her as well.

"Okay, fine. If it will appease you and stop you from asking then send the doctor in." I said and smiled as she jumped up and said she would be right back.

Moments later she came back through the front door with Carlisle and his medical bag as well as Charlie. Laura came back into the living room again when she heard more voices and had a look of surprise on her face when she saw Carlisle.

"Dr. Cullen. What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Hello Laura, sorry to barge in on you like this but I'm here with my daughter Alice. She said that Bella may need a little look over. I hope you don't mind." He said politely.

She smiled, "Oh no, come on in. She's right through here." Alice was already at my side as the other men followed her.

"Would any of you like something to drink?" She asked.

There was a chorus of, "Oh no." And "No thank you." as they came into the living room and stood by the couch.

"Okay, I'll leave you guys to it. My soap is on and I can't afford that DVR stuff so I don't want to miss it." She said with a little laugh, "I'll be in my kitchen watching them and having tea if you need me!"

Once she left the room, Carlisle came to my side and knelt down like Alice did and asked, "Hello Bella. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was thrown in front of a high speeding train." I said jokingly which caused him and everyone else to chuckle. He opened up his bag and grabbed his stethoscope an oral thermometer.

"It seems like we have a runaway train hitting almost everyone here in Forks because I have seen a lot of people this week with that very symptom." He said with a smile as he put his stethoscope in his ears and placed the other end on my chest. I just lay back as he did his normal doctor routine of checking my temperature and blood pressure next.

"Well, you have about a hundred and two fever and your blood pressure is pretty low, probably due to not having enough fluids in your system. I want you to try to eat a little bit of soup or eat some soda crackers. Also, sip on some water or ginger ale. And I want you to take some more ibuprofen as well to keep that fever down." He said and put his stuff back in his bag. Then he said, "Now, I want to check where you hit your head."

"Okay..." I said and sat up only to be hit by a head rush causing Alice to grab my hand in concern.

"Whoa there Bella, move slowly." Carlisle said as he helped me sit up. Once I was up he reached his hand to the back of my head and felt for the bump. Once he found it I felt a slight sting of bang that caused me to cringe. I didn't even realize that Alice still had my hand until she gripped it a little tighter.

"You have a slight bump…" He said and I felt him move my hair out of the way to look at it, "But I don't think it's anything to be worried about. I would put ice on it until the bump goes back down."

"I'll go get some ice from Mrs. Wood." Charlie said and left the room.

"Alright, thank you Dr. Cullen." I said as he led me back into a laying position.

"No Problem Bella, and please call me Carlisle." He said with a warm smile.

"I will, when you're not treating me like a patient." I said with a smile, "It seems only fitting to call you doctor."

"Still have your sense of humor I see." I heard Charlie say as he came back into the living room with a baggy of ice.

"That's a good thing." Alice said. "Now we know she really is okay."

I rolled my eyes at Alice and turned to my dad as he placed the ice under my head and asked, "So, what's going on?"

"Well, it was her alright." Charlie said with a sigh as he moved away and then sat down in a rocking chair next to the couch. Alice sat down next to me on the couch and Carlisle stayed in his crouched position in front of me while he continued, "We found another note up in your room. It basically said she wasn't giving up her hunt on you and next time, she won't hesitate to…"

He caught off then but I think we all knew what he didn't want to say. She wasn't going to hesitate to kill.

"But, why did she wait?" I asked confused. "I was in that house all by myself and it wasn't like I could fight her off with the state I'm in."

"I don't know Bella." Charlie said with a shake of his head. "But Deputy Wilson said that they may have found something that may explain why Victoria and James were trying to kidnap you in the first place."

Alice and I both gasped, "Really?" I asked.

"Yep. He said that back in 95, I arrested a man for robbery and attempted murder and he was sent off to the Seattle Penitentiary. His name was Eric Madison, James William Madison's father, and he was from Port Angeles." He said and paused to let the information sink in.

"Wait, James as in the one who held me captive in Port Angeles?" I asked in shock when it finally did. I was waiting for the 'ding ding ding' noise to go off in my head.

"Yep." He said, "That's where his dad was from as well. But, his father came into Forks sometime back in 95 and tried to rob the bank off of 4th Avenue. He almost walked off with a thousand dollars and he shot a guard as he tried to escape. Fortunately, a unit and I were right next door taking care of a domestic violence when we heard the gun shot and caught the man trying to run off. I was the one to arrest him and take him to the sheriff's office to book him. Then, he was sent off to Prison for a fifty year sentence. He would have gotten life if the guard had died."

"Oh my God, so then James got passed on with the criminal gene." Alice said as she sat there staring off into space.

"Well, Deputy Wilson said he may have come up with a theory." Charlie said

"What is it?" Carlisle asked looked serious and intrigued.

"He thinks the reason why James targeted Bella in the first place was because he somehow knew that she was my Daughter. He probably wanted to kidnap her in revenge for me putting his father in prison." He said and sighed as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"That would make sense." Carlisle said and looked over at me. I was thinking the exact same thing. In fact, it did make A LOT of sense. James was probably pretty young when Charlie put his dad into prison so he had to go all those years without having a father. And he most likely held a grudge against my dad for being the one to put him there so seeking revenge on him would be the perfect way to get back at him. Then my thoughts went to Victoria.

"And now that's exactly what she's doing with me." I said to myself but apparently I said it loud enough for Alice, Charlie, and Carlisle to hear.

"What?" Alice asked as she and the other two looked at me.

I sighed and said, "I was saying that Victoria is doing the same thing with me now. She is seeking revenge because I'm the reason James is gone. Just like James was doing for his father."

"Bella, I know you must be scarred out of your mind right now. But we all meant it when we said we wouldn't let anything happen to you. That's another reason why I've been so desperate to reach out to you; I don't want to see you hurt." Alice said sincerely and grabbed my hand again. It brought tears to my eyes to think how much she truly was like a sister I've never had.

"She's right Bella. We won't let anything happen to you." Charlie said and stood up from his seat, "I think it's time we took a little more precautions though. I don't want you alone now, not even in the house. So, while you are still resting up from this flu, I think it's a good idea to stay home with you until you are better."

"You don't have to do that Charlie." Alice said and I looked at her stunned as she continued, "We have a spare room at our house and I think it would be a great idea if Bella stayed with us for the time being. Since my mom works from home, Bella won't have to be alone and you won't have to stay home from work. Plus, I will be there with her right after school."

"I don't know Alice…" Charlie began uncomfortably as he scratched the back of his head.

"Actually Charlie, I think it is a good idea." Carlisle said causing my stunned gaze to turn to him, "I can also keep a close eye out on her condition and if this flu worsens then at least I will be there to give her any medical care she may need. Hopefully she will be better to go back to school next week but if not than she is more than welcome to stay with us as long as needed."

I could not wipe the stunned look off of my face and Alice was eyeing me with amusement. If I went to stay with them, than that meant I will be staying with Edward as well. How was I suppose to get by every day with him under the same roof! Sitting next to him in biology was hard enough and I didn't even want to think about what it was going to be like being under the same roof with someone who did not want anything to do with me anymore. And what if the gang came over? What would they think of me if I was suddenly sprung back into their lives? How was I supposed to even go about my plan of protecting them when they would all be right there with me?

"If you guys are absolutely certain then that would be very helpful." Charlie said, still acting a bit awkward.

"Absolutely Charlie! And I will be there to help take care of her as well so you have nothing to worry about." Alice said with excitement. I could tell she was holding back a squeal and I was trying to refrain from rolling my eyes, typical Alice.

"What do you think Bells?" Charlie asked.

"Uh… well…" I started as awkwardly as Charlie did.

"Oh Come on Bella! You don't want to be left in that house all a lone do you? Besides, it will give us some time for some girl talk." She said and stood up clapping her hands together. She was right though. The thought of being in that house alone again did send chills up my spine.

"And Bella will be of course getting as much rest as she needs, right Alice?" Carlisle said as he stood up from his crouched position leaving me feeling like the smallest one in the room as they all towered over me.

"Of course!" Alice said as she held up her hand like a girl scout.

"Well… I guess." I said, still not feeling fully comfortable with the situation.

"Oh cheer up Bella, even if you're sick we can still have fun!" She said and smiled widely as I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, then its set Bella is going to be staying with us." Carlisle said and then turned to Charlie and asked, "Is the house ok now for Bella to grab some things to bring with us?"

"Oh yes, it should be. I think the men were just wrapping up when I came back over here." Charlie said and then turned to me, "I'm going to go let Mrs. Wood know that we are leaving now."

"Okay." I said and sat up slowly. The dizziness was getting a little better so I was actually able to sit in a sitting position without the room spinning me around like a carnival ride.

"So, are you ready to do some serious girly talk soon?" Alice asked me sternly after Charlie left the room. I knew what she meant by 'serious girly talk' and knew she wanted to talk about my reasoning as to why I ad been ignoring her. I wasn't ready but I knew it had to be done. She did not deserve it so it was the least I could do.

"I guess…" I said with a dramatic sigh that caused Carlisle to chuckle and Alice to roll her eyes. Just then Charlie came back into the room with Laura in tow.

"Well Dear, I hope you get to feeling better soon." She said with a warm smile, "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask okay? You know where to find me."

"Okay. And thank you so much for all you have done." I said giving her a smile back.

"It wasn't a problem Bella. I would be glad to do it again." She said sincerely.

"Well, we should get going." Carlisle said, "Bella, Charlie and I will help you walk if you need us to and Alice can help you pack a bag to take to our house."

"Okay." I said as I tried to stand up. Alice and Carlisle put their arms under mine to give me extra support. Charlie came over to take over Alice's spot and they both led me to the front door which Laura was holding open for us. I said a final thank you to her before we headed out the door. I looked over at our house and saw that there was only a couple of police cars were outside and it looked like they were all getting ready to leave as well.

"I'm going to go get the car and bring it closer to the house." Carlisle said and let Alice take over his side of my support.

Once we got to the house, Alice assured Charlie that she could handle it from here so he could go finish up talking to the police officers who seemed to be waiting for him. She led me up stairs to my bedroom and helped me get a bag of my toiletries and clothes that I would be comfortable in. I noticed she was digging in my closet for most of the clothes that she had bought me. If I was feeling better, I probably would have fought her on it but since I wasn't I let it slide. When we were finished packing, she helped me into a fresh shirt and yoga pants to wear and brushed out the knots in my hair. I was too tired to protest and couldn't wait to lie down. But, no matter how tired I was, I still could not help but think how wonderful she was for doing everything for me after what I did to her and her friends. I didn't know at this point if I could still call the other's my friends. I would love too, but I think that would be for them to decide.

"There, now you look semi normal again." She teased when she finished up my hair. "Once your fever finally goes down and stays down, then you can take a bath."

I turned to see her putting my brush in my bag and zipped it up and slung it over her shoulder. She noticed me looking and asked, "What?"

"Nothing." I said with a small smile, "I just wanted to say thank you Alice, for everything that you're doing for me."

She smiled, "That's what sisters are for right?"

I smiled and nodded and thanked my lucky stars that I have someone like Alice in my life. How I became so blessed from having no REAL friends to having a sister that I've never thought I would have.

After we did a look around of making sure I wasn't going to need anything else, Alice led me back down the stairs and outside where Carlisle and Charlie were standing and talking.

"Gosh Bella, we seriously need to get some food in you. You feel lighter than a three year old kid. I bet I could pick you up no problem." She said.

"I bet you could too. And believe me, I really do want to eat. That's what I was going to do when I came down stairs in the first place. I wanted some of that soup you and Esme made for me." I said and stopped in front of Carlisle and Charlie.

"Well, Esme and I can make you some more and you can leave the other stuff here that way Charlie won't starve to death without your cooking." She said jokingly.

"You have no Idea how much I miss her cooking." Charlie said with a chuckle and then turned to me, "Well kiddo, I really hope you get to feeling better. I trust Dr. Cullen here to take care of you, as well as Alice, so I know you will probably be feeling better soon. And, once you come back home, I think we need to discuss some new arrangements so you aren't a lone."

"Okay." I said and almost sighed at the thought of me probably being Bella baby sat, "I will see you soon."

"Alright. I'm going to go talk to Deputy Wilson some more so I will see you soon. Call me if you need anything and let me know when you are ready to come back home." He said and hugged me awkwardly before heading over to a Port Angeles police car.

"You ready Bella?" Carlisle asked as he opened the passenger door of his Mercedes for me. I was going to protest and say that Alice should sit there but I didn't even notice the sneaky little minks had snuck her way into the back seat where she sat with a smirk on her face.

"I guess so." I said and sat down in the warm and comfy seat. Carlisle closed my door and walked around to get into the drivers seat. He started the engine and then pulled out of the driveway as I waved a bye to Charlie.

The drive was silent as we sped down the highway. I stared out the window and watched all the greenery pass us by in a blur. My eyes were starting to get droopy and before long the green blurriness turned into pitch black.

**AN: There you have it. Another chapter done! Thank you so much for reading and hope to hear your opinion! Feedback is awesome and thanks to those who do it! ;) so, please REVIEW! **


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: Thank you all so much for reviewing! Sorry I've been stalling with the chapters again, I've been fighting the stomach flu and bronchitis one after the other and with work not letting me take any time off, I just come home and sleep! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the next chapter and don't be afraid to tell me what you think please!  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight although I would so love to own Edward ;)

Ch. 22

I awoke to the sounds of urgent whispering and a cold and wet sensation dabbing at my forehead. I couldn't quiet make out what they were saying but I could tell there was three separate people whispering; a girl and two male voices. I could tell by the high pitch in the girls' voice that it was Alice and by the soothing smooth whisper of one of the males, I could tell it was Carlisle. I just couldn't quiet tell who the other male voice belonged to until:

"EDWARD!" I heard Alice half whisper furiously, "How could you say that! You know she still loves you, why do you have to be such a prat?"

It was Edward! He was here, wherever the hell I was and was telling Alice that someone, and I was guessing me, didn't love him anymore. I could here him whisper again but his whisper was so soft and melodic, I could not make out a word.

After he was finished, Alice answered back "Gosh Edward, sometimes you could be so naive! She probably has a good reason as to why she hasn't talked to any of us. And I already told her that we were going to have a talk about what's been going on."

Again, my ears strained to hear him answer her back but I could not. Instead I heard Alice again, "Why are you acting like this? Why are you giving up so easily? Do YOU not love Bella anymore?"

Wow, that was one question I really did not want to hear. And I wasn't too sure I wanted to hear the reply to that question either but my ears were trying to decipher what he was saying on their own. My heart suddenly stopped when I finally caught bits and pieces of what he was saying and what I heard made that painful ripple rip its way through my chest. I heard "No…" "Don't love…" and "…anymore."

"Guys, I think you should stop this conversation and maybe do it some other time." I heard Carlisle say, "I think she is beginning to wake up."

Oh how wrong was he. I wish he was because maybe I would have never of heard their conversation in the first place. I wanted nothing more than to curl up into a tiny ball and hope that I would just disappear.

"Bella?" Alice asked me while I felt a wait go down on the bed next to me, "Are you alright?"

I finally opened my eyes to see that I was in the guest room of the Cullen house, lying down on one of the most comfortable beds I have ever been on in my life, and both Carlisle and Alice were staring down at me with concern. I looked around and with a pang in my chest; I realized that Edward was no where in the room.

"Okay I guess." I lied as my voice came out scratchy from being sick and not using it in a while. I looked at the giant window that was covered in an elegant looking lavender colored curtain and saw that the sun had already gone down.

"Well, now that you are awake, I think it's time for some more medicine." Carlisle said as he grabbed a glass of water from the little nightstand and handed it to me along with a couple of white pills. I didn't even bother to ask what they were before I chugged them down with the entire glass of water. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was until the cool liquid touched my tongue and quenched the dry dessert in the back of my throat.

"Thank you." I said as I handed him back the glass.

"No problem." He said with a smile. "I'm going to head back down stairs and get you some more as well as something to eat. You shouldn't be taking all this medication on an empty stomach."

"Okay. Thank you again Mr. Cullen." I said with a smile. He smiled back before he walked out of the door leaving Alice and I alone. I looked over at her where she sat on the other side of my bed and saw that she had a calculating look on her face.

"How are you _really_ feeling Bella?" She asked and then her face suddenly turned serious, "And don't you lie to me. I can tell something is wrong other than you being sick."

"I'm fine Alice." I said with a sigh, "What time is it anyway? And how did I get up here?"

Alice gave me a glare, "Fine, change the subject now but later we will talk about what's bugging you."

"All right." I said with another sigh and looked down at the lavender silk bed spread that matched the beautiful curtains.

"It's six thirty." Alice said, "And Edward carried you up here."

My head shot up and I looked at her like she was crazy, "Edward carried me up here?"

She giggled, "Yes."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well…" Alice began, "When we pulled up to the house, Edward and Emmett were outside playing football. Edward saw you passed out in the passenger seat and freaked out. We told him what happened and then he just reached in and grabbed you and said there was no point in waking you up when you needed the rest. So, he just carried you up here."

I was shocked; I thought Edward didn't want anything to do with me anymore after I stopped talking to him so why would he be so worried? And doesn't he care more about Kaitlen now?

"How long have I been up here?" I asked looking around the elegant styled room once more.

"Well, by the time we got home it was around four so you've been here for a couple of hours now." She said. "We were going to wake you in a little while anyway so you could eat and take more medicine."

"Is someone getting hungry?" I heard a lovely voice ask and I turned to the door to see Esme standing with a tray of food in her hands. "May I come in?"

"Of course." I said with a smile and watched as she walked over to where Alice and I were. I sat up and let Esme put the tray down on my lap.

"Alice told me you hadn't had a chance to eat any of the soup we made you yet so I made up another batch." She said and then asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Okay I guess. The headache, body aches, and my stomach are not as bad now but my throat feels like it's on fire." I said.

"The soup will help soothe it some and when you are finished maybe Carlisle can give you something for the pain. But, you must eat something first young lady before you start withering away." She said with a stern look but caring smile. "I'm going to head back downstairs now. If you need anything Bella, don't be afraid to ask. Our home is open to you for as long as you want it to be."

"Thank you so much Esme, you guys have already done a lot for me." I said and still couldn't fathom how sweet this family was.

"We are happy to do it Bella." She said and patted my hand, "Now eat and I will go see what Carlisle can do about that soar throat."

I thanked her again before she left the room and then looked down at the tray that held a bowl of steaming homemade chicken noodle soup, saltine crackers, and a little glass of what looked like ginger ale. The smells of the soup were making my stomach rumble with want and I took it as a good sign to start eating. I looked over at Alice to see her watching me with a grin on her face the entire time of my assessment of the food.

"What?" I asked a little uncomfortably.

"Nothing, I'm just waiting to see how you like the soup." She said excitedly and sat herself cross legged on top of the bed.

"I don't think you are this excited just to see my reaction to the soup." I said before I took a spoonful and let the warm and scrumptious liquid soothe the back of my throat, "Which is delicious by the way."

"I knew you would like it." She said and I raised an eyebrow at her before taking another bite. "Okay, you're right. I'm not excited about the soup. I'm excited that you are here and I get to talk to my best friend! I missed you Bella."

I swallowed the soup along with a giant baseball sized lump that formed in my throat after hearing her words. I looked up at her only to see the most sincere look I have ever seen on her face.

I put my spoon back down in the bowl and answered back guiltily, "I missed you too."

"Eek!" I heard her squeal before she flung herself at me and amazingly didn't knock anything over on the tray. "Don't you ever do that to me again Isabella Marie Swan! I knew you couldn't hate us as much as Eli said you did."

"I never said I hated you guys." I said in shock as she pulled back and looked at me confused. "I said I didn't want anything to do with you guys because I just wanted to be left alone."

"That's not what Eli told us. She said that you told her you hated us and that you wished you never talked to any of us in the first place. And she said that you were blaming Edward for Victoria coming after you and ruining your life. That's why you didn't want to talk to us anymore." She said with a flabbergasted look on her face and then her beautiful features turned to anger, "I knew it wasn't true! I would not believe that you would say all that about us, especially Edward but to really hear that it wasn't true!"

She got up from her spot on the bed and started to pace the floor angrily, "Why would she lie to us like that? I just don't get it!"

I didn't get it either, that was not what I said to her at all! She took my words and twisted them into such a malicious lie, no wonder why no one wanted to talk to me anymore! But, obviously they believed her so how was I supposed to tell them that it wasn't the truth? They probably wouldn't even listen to me and obviously Alice tried telling them but they still believed what Eli said. I gasped suddenly which caused Alice to look at me worriedly.

"Are you alright Bella?" She asked concerned as she came back to the side of the bed.

"Yeah, I brought my back pack here with my school work in it right?" I asked her. She looked at me suspiciously and answered me back, "Yes… but what does homework have to do with…"

"Where is it?" I asked and put the tray on the night stand so I could get up and look for it.

"You stay right there missy. I will get it." She said and went into the closet and grabbed my back pack. She came back to the bed and handed it to me. "I don't know why you need this so badly."

I unzipped it and reached in to grab my folder out. I went through the side pockets trying to look for what I needed and I finally found it. Once I did I handed it to Alice and said, "This is the letter Eli and I were writing back and forth that day in English class. I don't know why I kept it but I'm glad I did."

Alice grabbed the letter and sat back down on the bed to read it. Her face looked shocked and filled with anger once again afterwards and she said, "This says nothing like Eli said it did! I can't believe her!"

She handed me back the letter and asked, "Bella, can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer me now, we can talk about it some other time if you want but, why did you not want to talk to us anymore?"

I sighed, I wanted nothing more than to avoid the subject but I really did owe Alice an explanation. Especially after her not believing any of those spiteful words that Eli told them I had said in the first place.

"I really did want to talk to you guys. I love you guys too much not to but I also love you guys too much that I wanted nothing more than to keep all you guys safe." I said and looked at Alice as she dawned a confused look on her face so I continued, "I stopped talking to you guys because I figured that if I did then Victoria would see that I wasn't friends with you guys anymore so she wouldn't try anything to hurt any of you just to get back at me. And now, I feel selfish and horrible because all of this is my fault and now everyone hates me because of, especially Edward."

"Oh Bella…"Alice started as she sat back down on the bed next to me and grabbed my hand, "…none of this your fault and what you were doing for all of us, just proves how selfless you are! You were willing to give up all our friendships plus a relationship with someone that I know you love just to protect us. Once everyone knows what you just told me, they are going to say the same thing. And Bella, I hope you know that none of us hate you and we aren't going anywhere. Even if you did try to push us all away we would still be here for you if that bitch ever tries to come back and hurt you again. You should have seen Edwards face when he saw you today and we told him what happened. I thought he was going to pass out with how white and freaked out he looked!"

"But Alice, you guys could get hurt as well or possibly even killed because of me!" I said and started to tear up and told her about the dream I keep having of Edward.

"Bella, as long as we all stay together, then nothing is going to happen to us. She won't want to mess with you or any of us if she sees how strong we all are. You can't let her intimidate you or scare you into believing that she can."

"I know you're right." I said with a sigh, "I just don't know what I would do if she ever does anything to any of you."

"And we wouldn't know what to do if she did something to you too Bella. We would have all felt guilty if something really bad would have happened to you today and none of us were there to help."

"I'm sorry Alice. I hope you can forgive me for all of this mess." I said. She let go of my hand and gave me a gentle hug before saying, "There is nothing to forgive you for Bella because you have done nothing wrong."

She pulled back with a smile and I said, "I just hope the others can say the same."

"Trust me, they will Bella." She said honestly and then a wicked grin spread across her features, "And if not, I see a giant shopping weekend spree in their future. I'm sure that will make them think twice."

We both laughed and I could just picture the horror on all their faces as she dragged them off from store to store all weekend long. I sighed contently at the warm feeling I had at the moment (and it wasn't a feverish warmth either). It was a warmth I had whenever I was around my friends and having that feeling back made me realize how much I missed it.

Alice's face suddenly turned serious again and she said, "Bella, Don't worry about how Edward's been acting. He wanted to be here with you and he was until you woke up but he just thinks that you didn't want him to be there when you did. Was that why you were so upset when you woke up?"

"Sort of." I said and then looked down at my hands as I continued, "I also heard part of your conversation before Edward left too."

Alice's eyes widened and she said, "What did you hear?"

"Enough to know that Edward doesn't love me anymore." I said sadly as the tears began to form and the pain in my chest to rise again at the thought, "He's probably in love with Kaitlen now."

"What?" Alice looked genuinely shocked, "You must have heard wrong Bella, because that boy loves you! He actually thinks that _you _don't love him. And who in the hell is Kaitlen?"

I thought back to the words that I had heard and thought it was possible that I did hear him wrong, no I didn't think, I hoped that it was possible that I did hear him wrong. I don't think that Alice would ever lie to me about something like this, especially when it comes to her brother and since she's been pretty much rooting for us since the beginning then why would she lie to me about his feelings now?

"Bella, who's Kaitlen?" Alice asked again as she disrupted my thoughts. And her not knowing who Kaitlen is was a good sign right?

"Some girl in our biology class." I said as I wiped some of the few stray tears that I hadn't realized were sliding down my cheek. "The day that I got sick, her and Edward were making googley eyes and smiled at one another like they were they only two people in the room."

"Bella, there is no way he loves another girl! He lives and breathes no one but you Bella! When you stopped talking to him he thought you were mad at him because of that night when you went home and didn't want to stay here. He thought you were upset because he walked off without so much as a word! And then when you wouldn't talk to any of us, he thought that he screwed it up with you and did not want to make the situation worse to try and push you to talk to him." Alice said furiously, "I can't believe you would even think that of my brother!"

"I'm sorry Alice. I guess I just got it all mixed up and confused it for something that it's not." I chocked out as more tears began to fall, "I never meant to hurt him or make him feel that way. I love him more than anything and that's why I felt the need to protect him just like the rest of you."

Alice's expression melted away to sympathy as she reached over to hug me once more, "I know Bella, I'm sorry and you are right. When we get all this figured out, you and Edward need to talk about all this. I miss the cutest couple ever!" She said sadly but it made us both giggle.

"I know." I said when we pulled away, "I'm ready to talk when he is."

"Well, once he hears the reasoning as to why you shunned as…" She said with a playful glare and continued, "… then I am sure he would want to wrap you up in his arms once more!"

I giggle, "I hope you're right."

"Now, that we got that cleared away." Alice said as she stood up and walked over to the tray on the nightstand and sat it back down on my lap, "You need to finish eating Ms. Bella before you make your stomach upset again."

I sighed dramatically, "Yes mother…"

She swatted at me playfully before saying, "I will be right back. I'm going to go get in my Pajamas while you eat and grab my homework so we can do a little bit together if you want."

"Okay, that sounds good." I said and watched with a smile as Alice did one of her little squeals before dancing out of the door.

When she came back I was finished with the soup and Carlisle had come up to give me some pain reliever for my throat and told us all goodnight because he had to head to the hospital on an emergency run and probably wouldn't be back until much later in the evening. After he left I got into my pajamas as well and Alice and I sat on the bed while talking and doing some homework and said just to prove her point that Edward still loved me, he would not stop asking how I was doing while she was trying to get ready. She finally had to open her door and threaten to spray her perfume on him if he wouldn't stop asking her after she had already told him that I was doing much better. She also said that tomorrow while they were at school, she would have a talk with everyone about what's been going on and hopefully confront Eli and see why she had lied to them.

By the time Alice finished up her homework and I finished some of mine so Alice can give it to my teachers tomorrow, it was nine thirty and we both agreed that it was bed time. I gave her all the work I had finished before she kissed my cheek and skipped off to her room to go to bed. Esme came and checked up on me once more before she went to bed. She said the fever was down and was staying down so that was a good sign that my body was finally starting to conquer the sickness. She tucked me in like my mother use to do when I was sick and wished me a goodnight before turning the light off and closed the door. I rolled over with a sigh and closed my eyes. I hoped and prayed that all of this mess would be resolved and over soon.

**AN: There you have it, yet another chapter added! I'm excited about the next chapter (because it involves Bella with a certain someone ;D )and hope you guys will like it too! Well, please leave me a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! **


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! It really does encourage me to keep going with this story and I WILL finish to the end! Well, here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy especially since it involves a certain someone ;) **

Ch.23

If I could sigh and roll my eyes in my sleep, then I totally would because I found myself standing in the same meadow that I've been dreaming about for the past week or so. It's been imprinted on my brain so much so that I can see it with my eyes closed even when I am not sleeping. But as I was standing in the middle surrounded by all the wild and beautiful flowers I noticed that something was off. Instead of the normal haze that you get when you are sleeping, it felt like I was actually standing in the meadow. I can hear every single rustle of brush and birds chirping. I could smell the musty smell of the trees and I could even smell the sweet fragrance of the wild flowers at my feet. I attempted to move one foot forward and was surprised that my foot actual took the step. Normally I can't move an inch and if I did, vines would wrap there way around my ankles so I couldn't move. Taking this as a good sign, I attempted to walk more and was surprised once again that I had moved a few feet from the spot I had once stood. I looked up at the spot that Edward normally walked out of but frowned when he didn't appear. That's strange, I've been standing here for a while now and usually Edward comes walking out of his spot by now.

I decided to walk towards it and when I got to the tree lining, I looked around and listened for any movement but frowned even more when I could not find any. I was starting to get a dreadful feeling in my chest that something was going to happen and not in the meadow it normally occurred in. So, I moved forward through the lining of the forests trees and made my way carefully down the terrain. Misty rain started to fall as I got further away from the meadow and I continued down hoping that I didn't slip until I came across a familiar looking path. I looked both ways, wondering which way I was supposed to go. Something inside me was pushing me to go right and so I did, happy that the path was much flatter and not leaning at a slant. As I made my way down the pathway I was getting that familiar feeling more and more and gasped when I saw something at the end of the path.

The reason why the pathway was so familiar was because it was the one that led through the forest at the backside of my house. And as I came out from the trees, there stood the house looking exactly the same as it normally did. Since I was dreaming I couldn't believe how much everything looked so real.

As I stood there assessing the house and everything surrounding it, something suddenly snapped me to attention and I listened again for the sound.

"Bella!" Without thinking twice, I took off in a sprint towards the voice of the one I was looking for. As I got closer, Edward's yell sounded again from the inside of the house so I bolted to the back door and tried to open it but was denied when the door handle wouldn't turn. Edward yelled my name again and panic started to set in as I ran around the house to the front door but when I went to open it, it too was locked. I searched in the flower pot next to the bottom step for the spare key but cursed when my shaky hand did not come across the cold metal.

"BELLA!" Edward screamed even louder. I ran back up the front step and started to pound loudly on the door.

"Edward? Edward can you here me?" I asked as I kept pounding on the door, "Edward let me in!"

"Bella, please help!" He yelled, "She got me Bella and I don't know …"

He was cut off by something because he didn't finish what he was saying. The sound of scuffling made that dreadful feeling increase and I ran to the window to see if I could see anything but the curtain was in the way. Suddenly I heard a loud crash and Edward scream in fright as he yelled out, "Bella! You need to run!"

"No!" I screamed and looked around for something to break the window when a smell caught my attention. I sniffed the air and to my horror I realized it was smoke. I turned around quickly to see smoke coming from one of the upstairs windows and it started to pour out the front door.

"Edward!" I screamed and ran back to the window and started to pound on the window. "Edward, can you hear me?"

"Bel… Bella….I…." I couldn't understand what he was trying to make out with his wheezed coughs keeping him from talking but my fear was increased tenfold by the sight of flames burning the curtains away in the window. Edward yelled out again more clearly this time, "Bella, you need to go! Get out of here before she gets…"

I waited for him to finish but it never came. I ran back down the steps to grab a rock and threw it at the window but screamed in frustration when the rock just bounced right off the glass. I ran back up the steps and grabbed the rock again and started to smack it against the window repeatedly but it wasn't doing a single thing to the window, not even a scratch could be seen.

"Edward! I am not leaving you!" I cried out as tears began to spill down my cheeks as I continued my bashing fest on the window. More and more smoke was penetrating the air around me and the house and it was starting to make breathing difficult as I started coughing and hiccupping.

Suddenly I was thrown back with such force that I landed on the front lawn and gasped as all the air was pushed out of my body. When I was able to breathe again, sat up and what I saw made me cry harder.

"NO!" I cried out in a sob as I watched the whole house being engulfed by hungry eating flames. I realized I was thrown back from the window being blown out and I also realized that there was no way that Edward could be alive.

"Edward…" I sobbed out as I stood up shakily on my feet, "I'm so sorry!"

A cackling laugh sounded behind me and I turned around to see the woman of my nightmares. I screamed out before she suddenly ran towards me and just like how my nightmare usual started, I could not budge.

She was only inches away from me and my eyes opened wide as I yelled out, "NO!" And I was suddenly brought out of the terrifying nightmare as I jerked up into a sitting position on the bed with tears streaking my face and it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest as it constricted my airways. Someone suddenly touched my back and I screamed out in fright and tried to get away but only ended up getting tangled in the bedding which made me panic even more. The person was sitting on the bed next to me and was trying to touch me once more.

"HELP!" I screamed out but my voice was muffled between the giant bed comforter.

"Bella, it's only me calm down." Said a sweet melodic voice that I heard moments ago which caused me to stop my frightful fight against the bedding and to look up at the gorgeous being sitting on the bed staring at me worriedly.

"Edward?" I whispered out breathlessly. His worried expression lessened some as he nodded his head.

"Bella, are you…" He didn't get the chance to finish his sentenced as I cried out and launched myself at him. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as I sobbed hysterically into his shoulder. I sighed in relief when I felt Edward's arms wrap themselves around my body tightly and held my shaking frame too him.

"Bella sweetheart, you were having a nightmare." He said soothingly as he began to stoke my hair, "Everything is going to be alright."

"Ed…Edward…" I chocked out in my sobs, "I am so so-sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

"Shh…Bella, it's okay." He said as he continued to stroke my hair, "Just try and calm down."

I nodded my head as I took deep breathes and tried to will the tears to stop their flow down my face. Edward continued to hold me as he rubbed my back in a soothing manner that almost put me to sleep. Once he noticed that my breathing was calmer and I stopped my blubbering sobs, he pulled back slightly and I looked up into the breath taking green eyes that I missed so much. His worry was still evident as he wiped the tears from my face.

"Are you alright?" He asked soothingly. I just nodded my head yes, not trusting my voice yet and I wasn't even sure if I could speak anyway.

Edward reached over me and grabbed a glass of water that was sitting on the nightstand and handed it to me which I took graciously. I guzzled down the cool liquid until the glass was empty of its contents. Edward grabbed the glass again and put it back down on the nightstand before he turned back to me. I watched his every move in fear that this was yet another dream and Edward really wasn't with me.

"That must have been some nightmare you had." He said with a sly smile.

"It was." I said with my voice a little horse which caused Edward to frown.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I think I am okay, just shaken up." I said and then suddenly blushed and felt embarrassed as I asked, "I didn't wake you up did I?"

To my surprise, Edward looked away with an embarrassed expression as he answered shyly, "No, I was kind of already in here before you had the nightmare."

My eyes widened as he still looked away and when he finally looked back at me he sighed and started to pull away from me more, "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have been in here while you were sleeping. I will go and let you go back to sleep."

I grabbed his arm quickly before he could remove himself fully from the bed, "No! Please don't go."

He stopped his movements in surprise and settled back down slowly next to me. I wrapped my arms around his torso and sighed in contentment as he hid the same around my shoulder.

"I don't mind you being in here." I said softly, "But I'm just curious to know as to why you were in here in the first place."

Edward gave a sigh and said just as softly, "I was in here when you were sleeping because I missed you so much. I thought it was probably the only way I would be able to spend time with you."

I looked at him sadly and knew I didn't have to ask him why he felt that way, "Edward, I don't hate you. And I don't hate anyone else. Alice told me what Eli had said to you guys and I want you to know that it's all not true. And I know that you probably don't believe me and I more than likely blew my chances of being with you but I gave Alice a letter that Eli and I had wrote to each other that day when she told you all that I hated you. And trust me when I say that it says nothing like what Eli told you it did."

Edward looked at me kind of upset and I was saddened when he let go and got up from the bed. "So you are calling Eli a liar? Why would she lie to us Bella?"

"By what Alice told me what she said, then yes I am because I didn't say any of those things!" I said almost on the verge of tears again. I knew this would happen though; I pushed him so far away that I knew I wouldn't get him back. And now he probably thinks I am trying to turn things against one of his best friends.

"So then what did you say to Eli?" He said still angrily and I told him exactly what I had said to her on the letter. When I finished, my heart sank even more as I saw he still was not convinced.

"Saying that you want nothing to do with us sounds an awfully lot like you hate us Bella. So I will save you the hate and leave you alone like you wanted." He said and was about to leave the room.

"Edward wait! Please!" I cried out as the tears that were on the verge broke their way through, "Please let me explain."

Edward stopped at the door and turned around his face was full of rage as he turned around and crossed his arms over his chiseled chest, "Fine, explain."

"What I told Eli wasn't true either." I said as more tears swam through my eyes, "The reason why I told everyone to leave me alone was because I was scared."

Edward sighed and asked, "Scared of what? Scared that we would ruin your life as you so put it."

"What?" I said incredulously, "No! I was scarred that if I kept talking to you and everyone else then Victoria would see how much I care about you guys and would want to hurt you just to get back at me, especially you Edward! I have been having this nightmare about her doing something terrible to you and each time she does it I can't do anything but stand there and watch. I just could not and can not let that happen to you or any of the others. That's why I did all of this, but please believe me when I say that I am sorry! I didn't want to hurt any of you and I understand that you probably don't want to talk to me anymore but I just had to explain why I said those things."

I looked down at my hands because I didn't want to see the anger and disappointment in his face any longer and the tears increased and I sobbed as I realized that he must have left the room as the only sound in the room was my sobs.

I jumped suddenly when I felt a weight go down on the bed and two strong arms pull me towards their chest.

"Bella, I am sorry I got so upset with you. I just can't believe that Eli would lie to me like that. She's one of my best friends and I didn't want to believe that it was true. And I am sorry that I didn't believe you but Bella you didn't have to say those things to chase us all away. I will be there to protect you Bella no matter what and if that means I die protecting you then so be it because I love you more than anything." He said softly and blushed when I felt him kiss the top of my head.

I looked up at him confused and asked, "But, what about Kaitlen?"

"Kaitlen?" He asked looking just as confused as me, "What about her?"

"I… I thought that you two were…. you know, together now?" I said sadly as I played with a loose string on the short sleeve of his pajama shirt. His confused expression turned to surprise.

"What? Me and Kaitlen? No!" He said almost furiously as he pulled me back a little and put his hands and either side of my face to look into my eyes, "I love _you _Bella. Even with all that has been going on between us I never stopped loving you and I never will. What on earth gave you the idea that I was with Kaitlen?"

"Well, on Monday when I got sick in biology and Kaitlen came to see if I was okay, I thought you two were together because when we got back to the classroom you guys were smiling and looking at one another like you were an item." I said while looking back at the little string I was playing with before. Edward wouldn't have it though because he grabbed my chin to bring my gaze back to his eyes.

"Bella, that wasn't and never will be the reason why I smiled at Kaitlen, I smiled at her because after you had got up to go to the bathroom I knew I couldn't follow you so I asked her if she would go and see if you were okay. The only reason why I asked Kaitlen other than the fact I couldn't go into the bathroom myself, was because she was the closest girl near our table. It could have been any other girl sitting there other than Kaitlen and I still would have asked them because all I wanted was to know that you were okay. And when she came back with you, I smiled to thank her for going for me." He said as he caressed my cheek softly. I blushed, not only from the soft touches on my face, but from guilt and total embarrassment. I felt so ashamed to think that Edward would feel that way about someone else and couldn't believe that he still loved me after all of this and now I basically accuse him of cheating on me? I got mad at myself as I felt tears that I was tired of crying make there presence in my eyes.

"Bella sweetheart, why are you crying?" He asked me concerned as he wiped away one of the tears that had fallen.

"Because you don't deserve someone like me." I said as more tears began to fall, "I'm sorry but you deserve someone much better than me who is beautiful, smart and doesn't lie to you or accuse you of being involved with someone else!"

"Bella, don't you _ever _say that I don't deserve you and don't you _ever_ put yourself down like that again!" He said with such anger that made me gasp and it seemed to scare my tears to a sudden halt. He pulled me even closer to him and put his forehead against mine as he continued, "I love you Isabella Marie Swan and that will never change because you are everything to me. I will never find anyone better than you Bella because you are the best and if I couldn't have you than I wouldn't want anyone else. I understand now why you lied to me and everyone else and though I am angry that you would try and face all this alone, I am honored to have someone who cares so much about me and my family that they would alienate themselves just to protect us. You are a great person and I know I already said it but I will say it everyday and every moment that we are together, I love you and I don't want you to think any different than that, okay?"

My heart melted in such a way that I was surprised that I even had one left and as more tears sprang to my eyes I replied, "I love you too Edward."

He chuckled and hugged me to him tightly, "If you love me then why are you crying again?"

"I'm crying because I'm happy and I missed you so much." I said and squeezed my arms as tightly as possible around him, afraid that he would disappear if I didn't.

"I missed you too Bella. More than you will ever know." He said softly into my hair. With the nightmare and still being on the brink of getting better, I tried and failed to hold back the yawn that was trying to break through.

"I should let you go back to sleep and get some rest." Edward said as he began to pull away but I stopped his movements which caused him to chuckle again.

"No, please don't go." I said as I closed my eyes, feeling content at last to be in his arms again.

"How about stay until you go back to sleep?" he asked as he laid us down on the bed flatter with me still underneath the covers and him on top of the bedspread.

"I would like that." I said and looked up at him and smiled before I laid my head down on his chest.

"Goodnight Bella, I love you." He said as he stroked my hair causing my heavy eyes to become even heavier as sleep fogged my mind. But before I could fall coward to the darkness I answered him groggily back, "I love you too Edward."

The rest of my night was filled with hazy dreams of Edward and I sitting in my dream meadow. I waited and waited for Victoria to walk out into the clearing but… she never came.

**AN: There you have it! Edward and Bella are back together once again! Thoughts and reviews are most welcome on the chapter, I hope you all enjoyed! **


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: Hello everyone. Well, I'm going to start off first with a HUGE apology to all my Unexpected Love readers for not keeping my story updated. I would like to say that NO, I am NOT discontinuing this story or any of my other stories for that matter. I've been going through a rough patch in my life right now with my grandma passing away and loosing my job, so I really wasn't in the mood to keep up the writing at the time. But, right now I'm going to do my best to keep this one updated to the point of finished so I can finish up the other one's as well. I would also like to say thank you to those who emailed me with their concern, I know how frustrating it is when an author doesn't keep up with their stories and all of a sudden seems to disappear off the face of the earth. So, I can guarantee that I am still on this kooky planet of earth and I hope that I haven't lost your interests in this story :) Now, I am going to stop jibber jabbering and let you get on with it! **

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight although I would so love to own Edward ;)

Ch. 24

"Eeeeeeek!"

My eyes bolted open at the sudden sound that filled my ears and they searched frantically around but could only see the material of a dark blue shirt. Said shirt moved suddenly, causing me to panic as my groggy brain that had been rudely brought out of a peaceful sleep, began to un-fog itself. I realized I was lying on someone's chest as the sound of a heart beat was resounding in my left ear and my head rose up and down slightly with the person's steady breathing. I was about to scream when my confused mind couldn't remember why I was resting so peacefully on someone with their muscular and warm arm wrapped around me, but said person spoke which enlightened memories of what had happened the night before.

"Damn it Alice! What the hell are you doing?" Edward grumbled roughly as he stretched a bit while tightening his hold around me.

"Awe… look at you two! You guys are just too cute!" I heard Alice's bright and cheery voice say. How on earth someone's voice could be that cheery in the morning is beyond me.

"Alice, go away." I said gruffly before I let out a small yawn and snuggled myself deeper into Edward's side soaking in all his warmth and calming smell. Edward chuckled slightly which caused little vibrations to tickle against my cheek.

"So I take it you're not mad at me for not leaving after you fell asleep?" He asked in an amused tone.

"Nope, why would I be mad?" I asked. My voice was still a little rough from both sleep and being sick.

"I don't know. I figured I would have been awoken by your surprised screaming and not Alice's squealing." He said and then asked, "By the way, what are you doing in here Alice?"

"I came to check up on Bella and when I opened the door I couldn't help but squeal when I saw you two all cuddled up together!" She said excitedly and even though my back was to her I could tell she was doing her little jumping up and down movements. "I hate to burst this little cute moment here but you should go and get ready for school Edward; we have to leave in thirty minutes."

Edward sighed, "I'm not going today Alice. I want to stay home with Bella and make sure she's going to be alright."

"Mom's not going to let you and you know it." Alice said and then pouted, "Besides, I already asked if I could and she said no."

"Well, that's you. Not me." He said and I could feel that he wanted to get up so sadly; I rolled off of him and sat up.

"You can ask her all you want. She told me she already cancelled her appointments for the day so she can look after Bella while we were at school." Alice said and sat on the bed. "How are you feeling today Bella?"

"I'm feeling better actually. My throat is still a little soar but other than that I think I'm ok." I said with another yawn.

"Well, I will be right back." Edward said as he got up and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "I'm going to go have a talk with mom."

"Talk all you want Edward, she's not going to cave." Alice said with a knowing smile. Edward just rolled his eyes before walking out the door.

"So, I take it you two talked last night?" Alice asked as she sat herself cross legged on the bed.

"Yeah, I was having a nightmare and when I woke up Edward was in here with me." I quietly said as I played with a button on the bed spread.

Alice giggled, "So, after you found out that Edward was stalking you, what happened next?"

I laughed and said, "I apologized to him about pushing him away and at first he wouldn't believe me when I told him that Eli lied to you guys."

Alice scoffed, "I knew that was going to happen. He and Eli are close friends but obviously you got through to him. What happened after that?"

"Nothing much really, we both said sorry again and then I got tired and fell a sleep on him. He said he would stay with me until I did but I guess he must have fallen asleep too." I said with a smile as I though back to the way it felt to be surrounded by nothing but Edward.

Alice smiled too and was about to say something when, "BELLA BEAR!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Emmett's loud and booming voice yelled. I looked at the door and before I could even squeak out a "Hi", Emmett came burling through the doorway and jumped onto the bed landing on his stomach causing me to be jumbled around like I was on a water bed and Alice to be practically projected off the bed. She landed with an "oof" onto the lavender carpet. I tried my best (I really did) to keep the laughter that was building up inside of me from coming out but the site of seeing Alice flying off the bed like she really was a little fairy, kept replaying in my mind.

"Emmett! Why did you do that?" Alice screeched as she pulled herself off the ground and dusted off her black skinny jeans.

"I didn't do it on purpose! It's not my fault you only way a pound you little pixie!" Emmett said with a grin.

"You know, I wish Bella still had the stomach part of the flu because maybe she would have puked all over you!" Alice said and crossed her arms.

"She wouldn't puke on me, she loves me unlike you." He said and stuck his tongue out at her like a little five year old and then turned to a still laughing me. "So Bella, how are you? Still feeling sick?"

"I'm doing ok Emmett. Feeling much better than I have in the last couple of days at least." I said with a giggle.

"That's good." He said with a smile and sat up, "Well, I better get downstairs and drag Edward's butt to get ready. He was fighting with Esme about wanting to stay home with you but when I left them it sounded like he was loosing the fight."

"Okay, see you later Emmett." I said as he got off the bed and walked to the door but before he went out he turned around me and what he said next surprised me.

"I'm glad your back Bella. We've missed you and now that Edward has you back maybe he won't be moping around anymore." He said with a genuine smile before it turned into a smirk, "Plus, I got my clumsy Bella bear back."

"I'm glad I'm back too Emmett." I said with a smile right back before he left the room.

"I told Edward he wasn't going to win." Alice said, "Well, I better go finish getting ready. I'll come say bye to you before we leave 'kay?"

"Okay." I said as I watched her turn and skip out of the room. I shook my head and smiled at all that happened so far this morning. I couldn't help the fluttering feeling I got when I realized how happy I was to have everyone that I cared about back in my life, well almost everyone. There was still Rose, Jasper, Brandon, and Eli. I frowned as I thought back to what Alice had said about Eli. With all that I heard, it sounded like she was trying to turn me against everyone, but why? I thought as all kinds of questions ran through my mind but one in particular stood out the most and for many reasons, it frightened me to think that it was the reason why Eli wanted everyone to stop talking to me. Did she really have feelings for Edward other than a friend and was jealous of us being together? I remember her saying clearly that he wasn't nothing more than a friend and more like her brother, but did she lie to me because she didn't want to admit it? I really hope that wasn't the reason and as soon as I can, I'm going to talk to her alone about all of this. Hopefully we can clear everything up and I can get my friend back. Tears began to from in my eyes as I thought of her. No matter how much I thought about the situation I could not be angry at her for what she did. She was my first and real friend here in Forks and I don't want things to end this way. With a sigh, I made up my mind that as soon as I was better, I would make a visit to her house so we could talk.

"Bella sweetie?" Startled out of my thoughts I looked up to see Esme standing in the doorway with a tray in her hands. She must have seen me jump so she added, "Sorry I scared you. It looked like you were lost in thought."

"That's okay." I said, "I was just thinking."

She nodded her head and smiled almost knowingly as she made her way over to the bed and sat the tray down on my lap. I looked down to see a small plate of scrambled eggs, with some toast cut into two triangles, and a little glass of orange juice. At the sight and smell of the food, my stomach gave out a loud growl of want and I blushed as Esme heard it and said, "I figured you might be hungry."

"Thank you Esme. It looks and smells delicious." I said with a smile, "I'm glad that I finally got my appetite back."

"You're welcome Bella. I talked to Carlisle and he said he will be up to check on how you're doing. He's also going to be here through out the day just in case. Plus, I will be here as well so don't feel shy or hesitant to ask for anything." She said and patted my head.

"Thank you again Esme. You guys have done so much for my and I am really grateful." I said as I took a bite of the eggs and nearly moaned and the delicious taste. Why can't my eggs ever taste like this?

"It's not a problem Bella. You are family to us now and we consider you as one of ours." She said as she sat on the bed. Her expression suddenly got serious and she asked, "How are you doing Bella?"

Confused I answered, "I'm doing better. My throat is still a little soar but…"

She cut me off with a slight shake of her head and said, "No Bella, I mean how are you _really _doing? You went through so much yesterday and I just want to make sure that you are okay."

I frowned when I scoffed at myself. I pushed what happened so far into the back of my mind that I nearly forgot why I was here in the first place: The break in.

I sighed and put my fork down on the plate, "To be honest, I don't really know. I guess my mind was trying to make me forget about it because I haven't thought much on it."

Esme gave a small smile and responded, "That's understandable Bella. It could have been your minds way of protecting you. Sometimes, it will do that to us and sometimes it will do quite the opposite to make sure we don't forget."

I nodded my head in response and said, "I think you're right."

"I know I'm right. That's what happens when you're married to a doctor." She joked. I giggled but stopped when her expression turned serious again, "But if you need to talk about it Bella, I'm here as well as Carlisle and the kids. We know that what's going on in your life right now can't possibly be easy to cope with so don't hide anything to yourself okay? If something is bothering you then speak your mind to any of us because we are hear to listen."

"Thank you Esme, really. I know I've said it so many times but I really do mean it and I hope you guys know how much I do." I said with slight tears in my eyes at her thoughtfulness.

She patted my hand and smiled her motherly smile as she said, "I know you mean it Bella. We are all thankful to have someone like you in our lives. Well, I better go make sure Edward is getting ready for school like I told him to."

"I already am." Edward's voice said from the doorway. We both turned to see a grim looking Edward standing with his arms crossed across his chest with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Oh Edward, stop pouting." Esme said playfully as she stood up and kissed him on the cheek. She then turned to me and said, "I'll come back up and check on you a little later. You are welcome to anything in this house. If you het bored up here, feel free to come downstairs. And finish up that breakfast. You need all the protein and vitamin C right now."

"Will do." I said and gave her one last smile before she walked out of the room. Once she was gone, Edward walked over and took Esme's spot on the bed. He looked at me with the same expression and I couldn't help but laugh.

He raised an eyebrow at me and asked, "What do you find so amusing?"

"You." I said with a laugh and continued, "Your pouting is too funny."

This time both eyebrows shot up, "Oh really? You think me wanting to stay with you today is amusing?"

"No!" I said and swatted his arm playfully. I could tell he was trying to hold back a smile. "I wish you could but I will be fine."

"I know. I just missed you Bella and if I can find anyway to spend more time with you than I'm going to try. But, if you could have heard Esme's threats than I am sure you would have backed down just as I did." He said with a smile and leaned up to kiss my forehead causing my heart to flutter.

"I know, I missed you too." I said after his sweet kiss, "But I will be here all weekend so we will have plenty of time to catch up."

"Yeah love birds, now no more lovey dovey crap cause we're coming in." Emmett said as he walked into the room followed by my pixie friend.

"We got to head to school now Bella." Alice said with a look of regret, "But all of us have our cell phones so if you get bored or need anything don't be afraid to text."

"Okay. But I think if I attempt to explore the house today it would probably keep me buys the whole day until you guys get back since your house is so big." I joked.

"Well than you can text us if you get lost." Emmett said with a grin.

"Bella, whatever you do, don't go in his room or else you may get lost in all the crap he has lying around. I swear some of it's alive." Alice said with a disgusted look on her face.

"Hey! I like my room that way; I know exactly where everything is when I need it." He said with confidence.

"Yeah yeah yeah. Anyway, we are going to talk to everyone at school about the whole messy situation stuff so don't worry about them and I shall see you later for some girl bonding time." She said with a wicked grin and walked out of the room before I could state my protest.

"Yeah, I can guarantee you won't have to worry about Rosie Bella." Emmett said and patted at my head gently like I was a little puppy, "Catch yah later Bella Bear."

After Emmett left Edward turned to me and rolled his eyes before saying, "I promise we will get some alone time later. Alice just got a brand new designer bag and I am sure she won't appreciate to find it stuffed with peanut butter if she won't let us."

I laughed which caused him to grin, "You are pure evil!"

"Hey, what did I say about me finding anyway to spend time with you. So, if it has to come down to that, then it will."

"EDWARD, GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE OR WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!" Alice screeched from downstairs causing us both to cringe.

"You better go. I really don't want to see her coming up here with that evil glare of hers." I said with a shiver at the mental image of Alice's glare popped into my head.

Edward looked almost torn as he let out a frustrated sigh, "I really wish I didn't have to but you are right."

He stood up and placed both hands on my cheeks before leaning down and giving my forehead another sweet kiss. He pulled away to look into my eyes but he didn't let go of my face as he said, "I love you Bella. God, I missed saying that."

I smiled, "I love you too."

"EDWARD!" Both Alice and Emmett yelled.

"Go now before they come up here and drag you down." I said with a chuckle. Edward sighed as he let go of my face and walked over to the door. But, before he walked out he turned to me and smiled, "I'll see you later."

I nodded my head smiling back, "See you later."

He smiled once more before he disappeared from my sight. I let out a content sigh. I was sad that he did have to go but I was happy at the thought that we were finally back together and I really was going to see him later. I let out one last sigh before turning my attention back to my uneaten breakfast.

After my tummy was full and satisfied, I gathered up some clothes to wear for the day deciding that a nice warm shower was in order. As I made my way into the bathroom that was adjoined to the bedroom, my jaw dropped in shock as I looked around the massive room. There was a walk in shower to my right that could have easily held six or more and in front of me was a giant whirlpool bathtub that I could have easily made into a bed and would have been satisfyingly comfortable with its size. To the left of the bathtub was a toilet and next to the toilet was a double sinked counter top with a giant mirror above it and to left against the other wall was a beautiful amour that I could only guessed held the bathroom supplies.. I smiled at all the décor that matched the bedroom this wonderful bathroom joined with. I closed the door and then looked between the bathtub and shower with contemplation. It only took a few seconds though when my mind came up with, "Screw the shower, I'm going for the tub!"

I probably spent almost an hour in the tub and decided to get out of the relaxing peace maker when my skin started to get pruney. I dried off and got dressed before brushing out my hair with the brush Alice had packed in my bag. Once I was finished I walked back out into the bedroom, I put the other clothes I had been wearing away along with the brush. I turned to take the tray of finished food back down stairs but frowned when I realized that Esme must have already grabbed it.

"What's with the frown?" A voice startled me from the doorway. I looked to see an amused Carlisle standing there waiting for a response.

"Huh? Oh, I was going to take my tray back downstairs to wash the dishes but it seems Esme has already beat me too it." I said with a smile.

Carlisle chuckled and said, "That's Esme for you. Just between you and me, she can be a bit of a clean-a-holic. Anyway, how are you feeling today Bella?"

"I'm feeling better. I think it's mostly just left in my throat right now." I said smiling at his concern. This family spoils me rotten.

"I can tell your voice sounds a little scratchy, but I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better." He said as he walked over to me and reached his hands out, "I'm going to touch your neck to see if there's any pain or swelling ok?"

"Ok." I said as he placed his warm hands gently around my neck, prodding it slightly and asking if I felt any pain.

"Only a little when you touch the front." I said and winced slightly as he touched it again.

"Other than the slight pain, there seems to be a little bit of swelling in the glands." He said and then reached into his front shirt pocket and pulled out a pen sized flashlight. "Mind if I take a look?"

I shook my head no and opened my mouth wide so he could look at my throat. I was thankful he didn't have one of those giant tongue suppressers shoved down my throat making me gag, I hate those damn things!

"Well, there's some swelling in the back and there's also some redness but it seems to be nothing more than a slight soar throat. I'm going to run down to my office in a bit to pick up some paper work so I will grab you some antibiotics as well. We don't want that soar throat turning into strep." He said as he placed his pen light thingy back into his pocket.

"Thank you Dr. Cullen." I said with a smile.

Carlisle chuckled, "Dr. Cullen? We aren't at the hospital Bella. When we are here, I am just Carlisle ok?"

"I know. I can't help to call you that when you get into your doctor mode." I said with a giggle.

He just shook his head amusedly in reply and said, "Well I better head out. The sooner I get those antibiotics, the sooner that soar throat of yours will get better. Feel free to wonder about the house. You are welcome to whatever you want but I must warn you to stay away from Emmett's room. You may go in alive but I can't promise you you'll come out the same. It even scares Esme away from trying to clean it."

I laughed, "Alice was saying pretty much the same thing this morning."

"Alright, I will see you in a little while. Esme is downstairs so if you need anything, fee free to ask." He said and walked out the door. I smiled at the thought of how this family, though not blood related, were all similar in so many ways that you could hardly even tell.

I was about to walk out as well to go downstairs but decided to call and check in on Charlie. I walked over to my bag and dug through one of the side pockets to retrieve my cell phone. When I found it I noticed I had a couple of missed text.

I opened up the first one and saw that it was from Edward: _Hey Love, just seeing how you are doing. I hope you aren't too bored but I am counting the minutes until I get to come home and see you. Love you, and see you soon if this stupid clock will stop moving slower than molasses. _

I giggled and opened up the next one and saw that it was from Alice: _Hey Bells! Just letting you know that Edward, Emmett, and I are going to talk to Jasper and everyone at lunch. They seemed kind of surprised that you are talking to us again but they are really interested to hear what we have to say! I'll fill you in as soon as we get home 'kay? Oh, and I was a little scared to see what was going to happen with Eli and Edward but she's not here today and Brandon said he thinks she has something similar to what you had. Anyway talk to you soon! XOXO_

Wow, I really hope that they believe me and not what Eli had told them all. And what about Brandon? Would he believe them when they say that what Eli told them all was a lie? I sighed, well I'm just going to have to wait and find out I guess.

I looked back down at my phone and noticed that there was yet another missed text and when I opened it I couldn't help but laugh: _BELLA BEAR! HI! Ed and Alice were texting you and I felt left out so I thought I would send one too! :)_

I shook my head at Emmett's humor and reopened Edward's message to reply back to him: _Hey Edward, I am doing alright. Your dad checked out mu throat because it was a little soar and he said that it's only a slight one but he went to his office to get some antibiotics for me so it doesn't get any worse. So, other than that I am doing well. I am going to call Charlie and then head down stairs. I love you too, and I can't wait to see you as well. _

After I hit the send button, I pulled up Alice's to reply back to hers: _Hey Alice! Well, I hope your guys' talk goes well and they will forgive me. Tell them once I get the chance to, I will apologize to them in person! But, I doubt Brandon will want any apology from me because I am sure he is going to believe what his sister said over my word. Anyway, I will talk to you when you get back from school. _

Then, last but not least, I pulled up Emmett's to reply back to his: _Hey Emmett Bear! You are too funny! I will talk to you soon okay?_

Once his reply was sent, I pulled up Charlie's desk number to see if he was in the station and hit the dial button.

After about a couple of rings he picked up, "This is Chief Swan, can I help you?"

"Hey dad, it's me." I said.

"Bells! How are you feeling honey?" He asked.

"I'm doing better. Just a slight soar throat is all but other than that all is good. Anyway, I was calling to see how _you _were doing." I said and smiled at his chuckle.

"You're calling to see how I am doing? I am doing ok Bella. Right now it's been kind of slow but the rain seems to be picking up and you know how crazy everyone drives so I am sure there might be a couple of calls coming in. You'd think that how long we've all been living here, they'd all know by now."

"Yeah, but you know how people never learn." I said and he chuckled again.

"Yeah, you are right there. Well, I guess I should tell you that we are going to start having surveillance watch at night outside the house. Some of the guys from Port Angeles are staying here because of the whole Victoria and James situation that happened in their city so they are going to help us try and catch her. I know it may not sound appealing to have cops outside our house at night but maybe it will be enough to keep her away." He said with a sigh.

"No, I understand. It might even make me feel safer having them there." I said and I could hear Charlie's sigh of relief.

"I am glad you see it that way Bella. I thought it might have made you too uncomfortable." He said and then quickly added, "Hold on a sec ok?"

"Ok." I said and heard his voice muffled on the other line as he talked to someone. I only waited a few seconds before he came back on the line sighing once again only this time it sounded like he was frustrated.

"I gotta go Bell's. Seems old lady Murphy got her car stuck in another mud filled trench and is causing a traffic jam by the elementary school. I will talk to you soon. Oh and check I would check your email soon or keep your phone by you because I called Renee last night to tell her what was going on but I couldn't get a hold of her so I left a message." Charlie said and I grunted.

"Great, I could just hear her now." I said and I did the sighing this time, "But okay, will do and I will talk to you later. Bye dad."

"Bye Bells." He said and once I heard the click on the other line signaling that he hung up, I hit the red end button on my phone and put it in my pocket of my sweat pants.

This was just great. I didn't call my Renee about what happened because I knew perfectly well what would happen. She would throw a massive fit and try to have me on the next plane out of town. Now, all I could do was wait until I got that call or email that held her unrelenting raft. I hoped that she was away with Phil on a long trip so she won't get that message for a while and hopefully by then all this would be over. A girl could only hope though. God, I needed something to distract me.

I decided to go to Edward's room and look for a book to read. Once I found one that interested me, I was going to sit on Edward's couch but I felt awkward being in there alone with out him so I decided to head down stairs to the leaving room instead. I walked over to a chair that was close to the massive floor to ceiling window and peered out at the pouring rain. I took a deep breathe and sighed before opening my booking, hoping that it would be a good distraction until Edward came back.

**AN: Well, there yah have it! Please leave me some reviews and let me know what you thought. I don't know when I will have the next chapter out but I can tell you that it won't take as long as this one did :) Please review! Me loves them! **


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Well, hello everyone! As you can see I have not dropped dead somewhere and I am in fact alive but a lot has went on since I last left off. First off, I was going back and forth to Arizona from November of last year till about April of this year helping out my mother with my sick grandma but sadly she passed away while we were there. Then I had no computer for a while since ours decided to take a poop so I lost EVERYTHING and we couldn't exactly afford another one so I had to start all my notes from scratch and what I had written so far. We barely got the new computer back in August. But, I had a pretty busy summer. We actually traveled to Washington to visit some fam and guess where we went? FORKS! And we stayed in La Push right on the beach for about a week. If you have any questions about my trip, feel free to ask! And, any free time I got was pretty much spent at Disney California Adventure Park watching the Mad T Party band perform! It's soooo much fun and if you are a fan of Alice in Wonderland, you would love it! Seriously, if you've never heard of it Google it! Hey! I might even have a reader on here who has actually been there. Anyway, I don't want to keep blabbering on so I shall leave you all to it! **

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything else to do with Twilight although I would so love to own Edward ;)

Ch. 25

"Bella sweetie?" I looked up from the book I was halfway through to find Esme standing in front of my spot on the couch with a glass of orange juice and a plate of something. "I'm sorry to disturb you but I thought you might be thirsty and I brought you a little snack."

"Thank you Esme, you didn't have to do that." I said and smiled as she put the glass of orange juice down on the coffee table along with a plate of sliced apples and oranges. Looking at the glass and plate made me realize I was getting thirsty and a little hungry and I wondered how long I had been engrossed in the book I was reading.

Esme seemed to read my mind because she said, "I know, but you've been sitting here for about an hour and a half and I figured you were probably getting a little parched. And you need to keep yourself hydrated young lady if you want to get better."

"Wow." I said and looked at the antique clock on the wall and saw that it was already going on eleven o' clock. I dog-eared my place in the book and placed it down onto the table. "I hadn't realized I was reading this long."

Esme walked around the table to sit on the opposite side of the couch as I reached for the glass of orange juice and took a long swig. I then reached out and grabbed an apple slice and was happy to see a scoopful of peanut butter on the side of the plate that I could dip the slices into.

"Did you want anything else? I could fix you some lunch right now if you'd prefer that? I wasn't sure if you were hungry enough for it yet." Esme said as she watched me bite into the apple slice with a smile.

After I had finished chewing and swallowing the slice I said, "Oh no, this is perfect right now Esme, thank you."

"No problem." She said with a smile then asked, "So what book were you lost in before I interrupted?"

I reached for the book off of the table and handed it to her, "I've never read this book before and when I saw it in Edward's collection I decided to give it a try. It's really turning out pretty good though."

She looked at the cover and smiled even wider as she nodded her head, "No wonder. _The Turn Around, _this is one of Edward's favorites. You two really do have a lot in common."

I smiled as she handed the book back to me, "Really? I had no idea it was one of his favorites. But, I can see why. It's certainly keeping my mind occupied and I haven't hit a boring spot yet. I'm surprised I've never heard of it."

"Well, I will let you get back to the book. It looks like you're about halfway through it so it's probably getting to the really good parts. But, before I leave you be, how are you feeling? You seem to have your appetite back at least." She said with a chuckle as I bit into an orange slice and smiled up at her.

"I'm feeling a lot better, thank you. And I no longer feel like I'm on the brink of death. I mostly feel it in my throat and that's about it." I said and place the peel down on the plate in exchange for another slice.

"That's good. I'm glad you are feeling better." She said with a smile and patted my knee.

"Me too." I said, "And I think I should be in the clear to go back to school tomorrow."

"Well, we will see how you do through out the day. If you don't get any fevers and your appetite stays, then I am sure Carlisle will give you the green light to go back. But until then, you take it easy." She said and stood up, "Carlisle called a little while ago and said he will be by after lunch to check in on you. He was hoping to be in and out of his office so he could get you those antibiotics but I guess he had some emergency patients to take care. Have you talked to Charlie today?"

"Okay." I said and then answered, "Yes, I called him earlier and I'll probably call him later too to check in on him."

"Good. I know how much he is worried about you Bella." She said and gave me another smile, "Well, I will be in my office taking care of some phone calls and such. If you need anything, just let me know okay? And if you want another book to read or you want to watch TV, then go on ahead."

"Thank you Esme, I definitely will." I said which received one last smile from Esme before she turned and walked out of the living room. I grabbed another apple slice and dipped it into the peanut butter before opening up the book and finishing where I left off.

By the time I finished the book, I was happy to see that another hour or so went by. I grabbed the book and empty glass and plate and walked into the kitchen where I was met by a mouth watering smell that made my stomach growl loudly. Esme was cooking something on the stove and was checking in on something that was in the oven. She must have heard me walk in because she closed the oven and turned around.

"I hope your getting hungry. Carlisle called again and said he is actually able to join us for lunch so I kind of went all out." She said with a smile that looked stuck between excited and nervous. I smiled too, knowing she mainly did it because of her love for Carlisle and with him working so hard at the hospital all the time, who knows how long it's been since these two actually got to sit down and eat lunch together. I felt a pang of guilt realizing that they are stuck with me here when they could probably be having some well needed alone time.

"Whatever it is, it smells delicious." I said as I placed the book down on the counter and walked over to the sink to clean the cup and plate.

"I'm making chicken alfredo with some garlic cheese bread. I'm also making some plain just in case you don't like it and I figured I would make this since it would be pretty mild on your stomach." She said and looked over at me from where she was stirring her sauce over the stove top. "Oh Bella, you don't have to clean those."

She came over and all but took the sponge and glass from my hand. "You go up stairs and wash up. Carlisle should be here any minute and lunch is done as soon as the bread is."

"Are you sure?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable. "I can wash my dishes and then go clean up."

"No, I've got this." She said already putting the clean glass in the strainer and then turned to me and scolded me playfully, "Now go get cleaned up. No arguing with me missy."

"Okay…okay…. I'm going." I said with a fake sigh and walked over to the counter dragging my feet to retrieve Edward's book. Before I walked out of the kitchen I heard Esme give a soft chuckle. I knew I didn't stand a chance of winning the argument from what went on this morning with Edward trying to argue his way into staying home with me.

After putting the book back where I found it, I went back to the room I was currently occupying to wash up in the adjoined bathroom. I had just finished drying my hands when I felt my phone vibrate in my sweat pants pocket. I walked out of the bathroom and plopped onto the bed before grabbing my phone out of my pocket. I looked at the screen and saw I had a new text message and smiled when I realized it was from Edward yet again.

_Lunch time! I am sitting here, listening to Alice talk about how ridiculous Tanya's outfit is today. Sad thing is, I actually agree with her. Anyway, only a couple more periods to go and then I get to see you again. Hope you are doing well. What have you been doing to occupy your time? _

I laughed and replied back; _I can so picture that. Tell Alice to send a picture if she can! And I'm doing well. I just got done reading a book and washed up for lunch. Carlisle is going to join Esme and I. I can tell she is really excited but I feel like I'm intruding on the two. But yes, a couple more hours! I can't wait! _

I hit the send button before putting the phone back into my pocket and headed out of the room to go back to the kitchen. When I got to the bottom of the staircase, I felt my phone buzz again. This time, I had two messages. I opened up the first one and saw it was from Alice and it was a picture message. I laughed at the picture of Tanya in a T-shirt that I realized I owned and wore to school before, only this one she had cut a deep slip to show off a huge amount of cleavage and cut about three inches off the bottom to make it shorter than it should be. To top that off and despite the cold and rainy weather we were having, she wore a pair of short shorts and looked like she only added the rain boots to make up for it. I noticed Alice left a little comment with the picture that said: _Slutty much? God, she must be really desperate for attention! _

I laughed again before opening up the next message which was Edward's reply back: _That's good. And don't you dare feel that way. Carlisle and Esme both love having you there so don't feel like you are intruding. Speaking of them, I better let you go so you can get to lunch. I love you and I'll see you soon._

I smiled and replied back: _I know I shouldn't, but you know me. And okay, I love you too. _

I stood up from the bed before I pocketed my phone and then headed out of the room and down the stairs. As soon as I got to the bottom, I tripped over the last step and clenched my eyes shut, expecting to have a meeting with the tiled floor. But, instead of that happening, I was met by a pair of strong arms which caused me to open my eyes wide with alarm. My eyes followed the pale blue dress shirt sleeve all the way up to the concerned face of Carlisle.

"Are you alright Bella?" He asked as he steadied me into a more standing position.

"Yes thank you. I just tripped over the step is all." I said in embarrassment. Carlisle still held me steady with the same look of concern.

"Are you sure? You're not feeling faint or dizzy?" He asked with a skeptical look.

"I'm sure." I said with a smile and joked, "I'm just a little shaken right now because I thought I was going to have a long awaited meeting with the floor. It's actually been a while and I'm surprised we've waited this long to almost meet. But, thank you for catching me because I'm sure it would have been quiet painful."

Carlisle chuckled and smiled when he realized that I was fine and all traces of worry left his face, "Well, I'm happy that I was there to catch you. I don't think Edward would have forgiven us if he would have come home to you with broken bones. I was just coming up to tell you that lunch was ready. Shall I lead the way?"

I laughed and took his arm that he held out for me to take, "Yes, I do believe you should."

As we made our way to the dinning room Carlisle went back into doctor mode, "So, am I safe to say that you are feeling better? How is your throat doing?"

"Yes, I'm feeling much better and my throat is just a little scratchy now." I said as he led me to a chair and pulled it out for me to sit.

"That's good. I still want you to take the antibiotics though just in case." He said and walked over to the head of the table. Esme walked out of the kitchen holding a basket of bread and sat it down in front of the pasta dish that was centered in the middle.

"Bella wanted to know if it was alright for her to go back to school tomorrow." Esme said as she sat across from me and began to dish out the delicious looking pasta onto my plate.

"I wouldn't see why not. As long as she doesn't run any fever today or tomorrow morning, then I think it shouldn't be a problem for you to go back." He said and took the pasta dish from Esme after she was done to put some onto his own plate.

I smiled and took a piece of bread from the basket that Esme held out to me, "Thank you. I actually can't wait to go back."

Lunch was spent mostly with a little chatter hear and there. I know Edward told me not to feel like I was imposing on the two but watching there little smiles and touches that were pointed at one another, I couldn't help but to feel like I was imposing. But, I still enjoyed it and as usually Esme's cooking was phenomenal.

When we were finished, Carlisle handed me a bottle that had about ten antibiotics and told me to take one after each meal until they were gone. He then gave Esme a kiss on the cheek and told her he would be back around four. He had some more appointments with patients so he wanted to get to the office and study their charts more before he met with them.

After he left, Esme and I had a little argument about me helping out with the dishes and after I told her it would at least give me something to do and keep me occupied, she finally agreed and I was surprised I had actually won the argument. Just wait until I tell Edward.

We had just gotten done with cleaning up that last of the dishes when my phone began to buzz in my pocket. It kept on buzzing which meant I was getting a phone call so I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID. I groaned when I saw the picture of Renee. My groaning caused Esme to peek over my shoulder and she smiled before saying, "I think you better take that call. As a mother, I can only imagine how worried she is."

I sighed, "I know. You don't mind if I go up stairs to take this do you?"

Esme chuckled, "Of course not! Now go answer it before you start to make her worry even more."

I smiled my thanks before walking out of the kitchen and to the staircase. Once I was halfway, I finally hit the answer button, "Hello?"

"Bella?! Oh my God, I'm so sorry I just got your dads message. We have been out on the rode for the past couple of weeks and I left my cell phone at home and I called the house first but got no answer and then I called Charlie at the sheriffs department to see what was going on and he finally told me that you were staying at a friend's house until you got better since he didn't want to leave you at home alone and I'm so.." I cut off Renee's rambling before she could continue with more.

"Mom… I'm fine. In fact I'm feeling much better now and I'm probably going back to school tomorrow. As for what Charlie told you, I am sure he explained what has been going on and right now there are doing everything they possibly can. But, right now I'm fine and I'm safe so there is no need for you to worry." I said with a heavy sigh as I reached the bedroom and fell dramatically onto the bed.

"Oh Bella, how can you tell me not to worry? Some mad woman is out there tormenting you! Of course I'm going to worry! But, you know what? I think you need to come back and live with us. That way that bitch can't do anything and you will be safer here because I won't be too busy working!" She yelled panicky.

"Mom! I am not moving back! Yes, Charlie is busy working but he is also busy working on trying to catch this woman. Me moving back with you guys is not going to help this situation out any. In fact, it might make things worse! What if she followed me there mom and caught me off guard? I'd have to find a whole new batch of friends and in the mean time, then what? I am much safer here as long as I surround myself with people and I have the friends here to do that with. Besides, you know I can't leave Edward." I said and sat up rubbing the pain that started to throb between my eyes, "Look, I know you are worried but nothing is going to happen to me. We have Forks Police _and _the Port Angeles Police Department looking for her and they have been patrolling around the house to make sure she stays away."

"I know Bella, but us mother's will always worry about their children no matter what. I know Charlie can protect you but I just wish you were closer so I could to." She said with a slight sniffle. There goes that damn guilt again. If anyone out there could make me feel guiltier about things then it's definitely her.

I sighed, "I wish I was too mom. But, like I said before, everything's going to be fine. So, how was your trip with Phill?"

She sighed playfully before answering, "Always changing the subject on me. Well, Phil's team lost and we were going to come back home a week ago but we decided to take our time coming back home and stopped at various places in the cities and states we passed through. I already found the perfect Christmas present for you."

"Oh really?" I asked with a slight smile, "I suppose you can't give me any hints as to what it could be?"

That made her laugh, "No! Every time I do that you always guess what it is so I'm not even going to attempt that again."

"Awe, come on!" I said with a giggle, "I love playing that game and you know how much I hate surprises so if I guess what it is I won't hate it because it will no longer be a surprise."

"Oh Bella…" She said with a tired sigh, "I can even tell you how much I have missed you. So, other than all this other business, how are other things going? And how's Edward?"

"I miss you too mom." I said sadly before answering, "Well, things are going okay. I just got over the flu and things were going kind of sucky with the friends but things are starting to turn around and are almost back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get with a mad woman trying to come after you. And Edward is doing well. He's as sweet as he always is."

"Hmm… by the tone in your voice it sounds like you don't want to talk about the whole friend thing?" She said and I could here her doing things in the background.

"No. Not really." I said as I continued to listen to the background noise. "Things with that like I said, are starting to get back to normal so it's pretty much almost resolved. What on earth are you doing?"

"Well, as long as things are doing better. And I'm unpacking some stuff from the car." She said, "As soon as I got home and heard the message I called Charlie and you. Phill has a meeting to go to and I'm starting a new aerobics class tonight so we are trying to get all this stuff unpacked before we have to leave."

"Oh, well I'm going to let you go then." I said even though she was the one that called me, "I should go make sure that Esme doesn't need help with anything."

"Yeah, I should go so I can get this done. But, I hate to hang up. I miss talking to you Bella." She said sadly.

"Me too Mom. But I promise I will call you again soon and keep you updated with what's been going on." I said with a heavy sigh. I really did miss talking to her too. No matter what, she will always be my mother and I will always miss her.

"You better. I told Charlie the same thing so there's no excuse if I don't here a thing from either of you. I also might be going up there in a couple of weeks or so but I won't know for sure until Phill's next schedule comes up. But once I do, I will either call or email you." She said and I could tell she was smiling.

"I will. And Okay, that would be nice." I said and then asked, "Only you are coming right?"

"I don't know. Phill might want to come but if he isn't going to be touring then he will probably be too busy with office work. So, more than likely it will just be me." She said and I sighed in relief.

"Okay, sounds good." I said and answered, "Well, I love you mom and I'll talk to you soon."

"Alright Bella, I love you too. Bye." She said. I replied "Bye" back before hitting the end button. I sighed dramatically before plopping backwards back onto the bed. Well, that phone call went a little better than I thought. I was expecting to be on that phone for at least an hour trying to convince her that everything was fine. But, maybe Charlie told her to take it easy on me.

I opened my eyes and brought my phone up to see the time. It was already going on one thirty which meant that Edward and everyone would be back in less than two hours. I couldn't believe that they were almost going to be home. I thought the day was going to drag without having Edward here with me, but my wait to see him again was almost over.

I placed the phone on the bed next to me as I stared up at the spotless ceiling. In all honesty, I really didn't know if everything was going to be alright. What does one say to someone when they ask that question and some crazed woman is out there trying to kill you? Oh, everything is just fine and dandy. I just got to make sure that I'm never alone again or else she could probably kill me.

I sighed and closed my eyes again. Well, at least Edward and almost everyone are back in my life once again. But, if anything happens to them because of me, then I will never be able to forgive myself. That was my last thought before my world was suddenly surrounded by a haze of darkness.

**AN: Well, there you have it. Hope y'all enjoyed it! I know there were probably a bazillion mistakes and errors but I wanted to get this out to you all as quick as possible and I shall hopefully have your next installment up soon! PS: I haven't been on this in so long, I nearly forgot how to upload! XD  
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	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Thank you so much for those who gave the positive feedback! I'm so glad that most of you are really enjoying my story and when you I get the reviews that say that you all do, it encourages me even more to write! So, thanks so much and I am glad that you are enjoying the story. Let's move on to the next chapter shall we?**

Ch: 26

Shaking? Why the hell am I shaking? One minute I'm walking down the street hand in hand with Edward, in a place that looked a lot like Port Angeles, and we were talking and having a great time until I started shaking. Then my visual of Edward suddenly started to melt away, along with my surroundings and all I could here was a high pitched voice calling out to me. That's when I realized I was sleeping and someone was waking me up. And that someone was… Alice.

"Bella! Come on!" I heard her annoyed voice say, "I know you're awake now so open up them eyes of yours already!"

"Alice…" I heard Edward sigh, "Leave her alone. She's obviously tired so leave her be and let her rest!"

"But I want to talk to her!" She said, "Besides, everyone should be getting here any minute now!"

That caught my attention. I opened up my eyes to see Alice standing next to the bed and Edward was sitting down by my legs. I sighed and asked, "Who's everyone Alice?"

It was quiet comical the way they both suddenly turned their heads in my direction, I couldn't help but laugh. Alice sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically, "Finally! We've been trying to wake you up for at least fifteen minutes already! Rose, Jasper, and Brandon are coming over. We have a lot to discuss regarding what happened and how you are back into our lives. And I admit they were pretty pissed when we told them that you were back."

I sighed and sat myself up into a sitting position, "I could have told you that they would be Alice. Maybe we should just give them some time and let them decide for themselves whether or not they want to be friends with me again."

"That's why they are coming over Bella." Alice said and sat herself pristinely down onto the floor. "They want to hear what you have to say and they are curious as to why Edward, Emmett and I accepted your friendship back so easily."

Edward grabbed my hand and squeezed it before saying, "We didn't tell them much just that we listened to what you had to say and we accepted it. So, we thought it would be best if you explained everything to them. They are mad at you Bella, but that doesn't mean that they still don't care about you."

I nodded my head and squeezed his hand back. I was suddenly getting very nervous about talking to them all again. Especially to…

"Wait a minute." I said suddenly, "Eli didn't want to come, did she?"

Alice answered me, "Well, she wasn't at school today. Brandon said that he thinks she caught the flu that has been going around."

"Oh." I said and looked down at mine and Edward's entwined hands. I was a little bit relieved that I didn't have to face her today. But, I was anxious to see how everyone was going to react when I told them what she did. There was suddenly a slight knock on the door frame and we all looked up to see Emmett standing there.

"Everyone is waiting in the living room and they talked Mike and Angela into coming also." He said and gave a slight smile. It didn't quiet seem like his usual happy go lucky smiles so I knew he was probably nervous as well. Especially with the fact that Rose was Emmett's girlfriend and now he is friends again with a girl that she probably hates now.

"Alright, thanks Emmett." Edward said and looked at Alice, "Can you tell everyone that we will be down in a minute. I wanted to speak with Bella a lone for a sec."

She stood up fluidly and said, "Sure. But don't take too long please. I think the sooner we get everything situated, the sooner all this tension in the group will go away."

"We will only be a minute." Edward said. She nodded her head and walked over to me to give me a quick hug before she followed Emmett out the door.

Edward waited until he couldn't hear them any more before he turned to me and said, "Bella, I know you are nervous about talking to them. But, I really think that it will be okay once you do."

"I know." I said and added, "I just… I'm scared because I basically have to tell them that Eli lied to them. What if they think I'm just trying to turn her against them or something?"

"We have evidence Bella." He said and grabbed my other hand with his own, "Alice has the note that you and Eli wrote to each other. If they won't believe your own words then they are going to have to believe Eli's written down on paper." He said reassuringly.

I sighed, "I just wish that none of this ever happened. Sometimes I even wish I never met you guys because me being here… it just seems like it's tearing you guys apart."

Edward reached up and cupped my face in his hand. I looked up into his torn eyes and immediately regretted saying what I did. "Bella, don't say that. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, even better than Carlisle taking me in, and I love you so much Bella. When you didn't want to talk to us anymore, I was so broken; I didn't know what to do. I couldn't ever stay mad at you for it though and somewhere deep down, I knew that you were doing it for some insane reason."

"I love you too Edward but I don't see how me wanting to protect all of you is insane. I've put you all in so much danger and me being here with all of you isn't helping that situation any." I said.

"Bella, you are in more danger being on your own than being surrounded by all of us." He said and brought his hand back down to grab mine. "All of us being together will probably scare her away because she won't be able to get to you unless you are alone. In fact, you probably were giving her exactly what she wanted when you pushed us all away. So don't do that Bella. Don't let her win this. As long as we stick together, even if Jasper, Rose, or Brandon don't want to, you still have Alice, Emmett, and I. Okay?"

I nodded my head, knowing that he was right. But, it still didn't help with the fact that we were all at risk of being in danger.

"Well, are you ready to face the music?" He asked with a slight smile and leaned over to kiss my forehead. "We should head down before Alice sends a search party for us."

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I said and gave him a smile of my own. He let go of one hand but still held on to the other as he helped me off the bed. We walked out of the room and down the stairs in silence. The only thing reassuring my feet to keep moving to the living room as Edward's hand squeezing my own in comfort. As we rounded the corner I looked up to see Mike sitting next to Rose who had herself perched on Emmett's lap on one couch, Jasper and Alice were holding hands on the other, and Brandon was sitting on the floor in front of their couch with his legs spread out and Angela was sat in between said legs. I almost smiled, happy to see that their relationship seemed to be getting stronger already.

Everyone was quiet and seemed to be lost in their own thoughts but as soon as Edward and I stepped foot into the living room, everyone's heads turned. Rose, looked at me with such hatred, I wanted to let go of Edward's hand and run for the hills. Jasper looked at me with no emotion, and I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing but it certainly didn't feel good. Brandon and Angela both looked up at me from their spot on the floor. They both gave me a slight smile which I happily returned, glad to see that they didn't seem too unpleased with me at least. And of course, Emmett and Alice were both flat out smiling at me. Alice let go of Jaspers hand and walked over to where Edward and I stood. She grabbed my other hand and gave it a squeeze before turning her attention to everyone else in the room.

"Bella would like to explain to you all why she hasn't wanted to talk to any of us. As we told you all earlier, Edward, Emmett, and I have heard what she had to say and we think she did what she did for a very good reason and…" Alice started to say but was cut off.

"Good reason?" Rose said with a scoff. "What possibly could have been a good reason? Isn't it obvious? She doesn't care about any of us. Can't you see that she's just using you guys? She's only here because she doesn't want to be killed by that woman. If she wasn't being hunted by her, I'm sure she would be happier alone."

"Rose!" Emmett said and grabbed the bridge of his nose much like Edward. "We already talked about this. Please, just let Bella get her side of the story out before you start judging her."

Rose scoffed again before she folded her arms across her chest, "Fine. But if I don't like what she has to say or I don't believe it, then I am leaving because there is no way I'm going to stay in the same house as her."

"Alright then let her speak." Alice said annoyed and she led both Edward and I over to the couch to sit next to Jasper while she took a spot perched on top of the arm rest. I sat there a second, staring at the hand that she no longer held onto. How the hell was I going to start this conversation? How was I going to tell everyone that their friend has lied to them about me? Would they believe me? I felt Edward squeeze my hand gently which cause me to look up. He smiled at me encouragingly and kissed my knuckles lightly. I smiled back before I turned to the furious and curious gazes in the room.

"First of all, I want to apologize to each and every one of you. I know that you're not happy with me right now and you all have every right not to be, but I hope that I can at least gain some of your forgiveness. What I did, I realized was not the way to go about things but I did so because… I was scared." I said with a sigh and looked back down at my hands.

"What were you scared of?" Jasper asked curiously. I looked up at him, surprised that he spoke to me. His face was still set in indifference but I could still see a kindness in his eyes. At least I haven't lost him completely yet.

"I was scared that if I continued to be friends with you guys, Victoria would see how much you all mean to me. And since I was basically the reason why she lost the person that meant the most to her, then she would want to take that away from me also. So, I thought that if I pushed you guys away, she would see that I wasn't close to you guys anymore and then you wouldn't be in danger." I said.

"Well, I think that makes sense." Angela said and smiled at me, "I know I don't speak for everyone here, but I can see why you did it and I think it was brave of you to isolate yourself like that when you could have been putting yourself into even more danger."

"I agree." Brandon said and smiled at me. Mike said the same thing, even though I could tell he wasn't really that upset with me in the first place.

Jasper reached over and patted my hand and I was happy to see him smiling again, "I couldn't have said that better myself. But you know that we are all here for you Bella. We'll make sure nothing happens to you or any one of us."

"Oh cut the crap!" We all turned to see Rose slide off of Emmett's lap. "Can't you see this is just a stupid trick to get you all to accept her back again? Are you all that blind that you can't see that it's all a lie? Well I can! Let's not forget what Eli said. She told us that Bella hated all of us and that we pretty much ruined her lives! She blamed Edward for the whole Victoria thing for crying out loud! Does that sound like someone who was just 'trying' to push us away for safety?"

I took a deep breathe and said, "Rose, what Eli told all of you… it was all a lie. I never told her any of those things. All I said was I wanted to be left alone! That's it. There was no blame game going on and I certainly never said that I hated any of you guys."

Rose's face turned from angry to absolute rage within only a few seconds that it made me cringe and I could almost feel the flames burning me from her firey look.

"You're telling me, that Eli… ELI…. Our friend that we've been friends with for a hell of a lot longer than you, LIED to all of us?" Rose yelled out, "YOU'RE THE LIAR!"

I stood there, staring at her fuming figure in shock and literally shaking. I almost didn't feel Edward putting his arm around my shoulder. I've never seen this girl so upset before and it scared the living crap out of me. If it wasn't for everyone else in the room yelling at her to calm down and for Emmett's tight grip around her waist to keep her from lunging at me, I'm pretty sure she would have killed me by now. But, it still did not stop her from trying to wiggle her way out of his grip and the profanities were still coming from her mouth at me.

"ROSALIE HALE! YOU STOP THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW!" Emmett's loud voice boomed through out the living room. It made me jump ten feet into the air and everyone stopped and stared at him in shock. Rose, immediately stopped and turned her attention to a livid looking Emmett.

"What did you say to me?" Rose said almost too quiet for all of us to hear. Emmett let go of her and she stood there with her arms crossed staring up at him, "You've fallen for her lies too haven't you? How could you Emmett! You're supposed to support me! Not her!"

"Rose just stop it already!" He said annoyed, "Bella is not lying and we can even prove it to you all!"

"Oh yeah, and how the hell are you going to do that?" Rose said and turned her hated gaze back at me, "You don't deserve our forgiveness so this better be good!"

"Rose, it's true." Alice said as she walked over to her and grabbed what looked like the note from out of her pocket. "Eli told us all that Bella told her she didn't want to talk to any of us because she hated us and blamed us for ruining her life right?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what she said." Rose said in a 'duh' like manner.

Alice rolled her eyes at her behavior but continued on, "Bella gave this to me last night. She told me that she never said any of those things and that day in English class, they both wrote this note back and forth to each other. The only thing Bella says is that she just wanted to be left alone. There was nothing about hate in this letter and you can read it for yourself."

Rose snatched the letter out of her hand and began reading it. The more and more she read, the less anger showed on her model like face and it was being replaced by confusion. When she was done, she plopped down onto the couch with a perplexed expression and said, "I don't get it. Why the hell would Eli tell us all of those things then?"

"We don't know." Edward said softly, "Obviously there is something going on with Eli that none of us don't know about. But some of us were thinking that maybe she's jealous of mine and Bella's relationship so, she saw this as the perfect opportunity to split us up."

Rose sat there staring off into space nodding her head. Brandon came and sat down next to her and grabbed the letter out of her hands to read for himself.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm just glad that Bella is back in our lives. We will figure out this whole Eli mess later but I think right now we need to focus on having Bella here and safe." Edward said and squeezed my shoulder before continuing, "We didn't tell you all but Bella had an intruder in her house yesterday while she was alone. The police think that Victoria was responsible and if Bella hadn't gotten out of there, who knows what would have happened."

"Oh my god." Angela gasped and came over to hug me, "I'm so glad that you are okay!"

"Thank you." I said Edward let go of me so I could hug her back.

When she let go I nearly jumped when I saw Rose standing in front of me. She had tears forming in her eyes before she launched herself at me and hugged me in a grip that could almost rival Emmett's. "Bella, I am so-so sorry! I should have never put the blame on you without hearing you out first. It's just, when someone hurts my friends… I get a little protective of them."

I giggle, "A little? Remind me to never cross you again. You scared the shit out of me."

Rose laughed lightly and pulled back, "I'm sorry about that. I just can't believe that Eli lied to us all. But, let's not dwell on it right now like Edward said. Let's just be happy that you are here back with us again."

She pulled back and walked over to Emmett who was finally smiling again and wrapped her arms around his torso, "And I'm so sorry I didn't believe you either babe."

"I know. I'm sorry you didn't believe me either." He said and stuck his tongue out at her. She laughed and smacked his chest lightly. Emmett then turned to me and said, "Now you know what I have to face every time she's on her period. Isn't it scary?"

"EMMETT!" Rose, Alice, and I said in unison as Rose smacked him not so gently this time on the chest. All of us girls turned and looked at one another and began to laugh. The weight that I felt on my shoulders was slowly beginning to lift and it started to feel like old times again.

"Well, I think it's safe to say welcome back Bella." Jasper said as he came up to me and gave me a small hug, "We've missed you around here and I'm glad we don't have to deal with a mopey Edward."

"Hey…" Edward started to say but I cut him off with a smile and turned to Jasper, "Thanks Jasper, I'm glad to be back too. I just hope that having you guys back in my life again won't cause any more danger to you guys."

"If does, so what." Alice said as she came up and entwined her arm through Jasper's. "We are all in this together Bella. Like we said, you have a better chance of staying safe yourself with all of us around."

"Yeah, the bitch won't want to mess with you. She's going to have to go through all of us and I for one don't think she's brave enough to do it. Especially since she only went after you when you were all alone." Rose said with a smile.

"See Bella." Edward said as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waste. He leaned down and kissed the side of my neck, "We are all here no matter what. We would do the same for any one of us here because we care about each other enough to do so. We just got to make sure that no one is alone and I know that's not going to be a problem."

"Nope!" Alice said, "Not at all. We can come up with a plan to make sure neither one of us has to go anywhere or stay anywhere alone. That way it will discourage her from trying anything."

I nodded my head in agreement, "I would feel a lot better if we did do that. Like I told Edward and you guys; you all mean so much to me. If something were to happen to you all because of me, I don't know what I would do."

"Nothing's going to happen to us Bella." Emmett said, "We won't let it happen."

I smiled at him and just happened to look over at Brandon who was still sitting quietly on the couch looking at the letter in his hands. Angela was staring at him in concern and Mike was looking around at us all like he was bored. But, Brandon's behavior was starting to worry me and I soon too looked at him in concern.

"Brandon?" I asked and he seemed to snap out of whatever thoughts he was having as he looked up at me, "Are you alright?"

"What? Oh um, yeah." He said shaking his head and looked back down at the letter in his hands, "I just… I just can't believe Eli would lie to everyone. I guess I'm kind of shocked."

"None of us can believe it, but it's right there plain as day." Said Angela as she placed a comforting hand on his knee.

"I know…" He said and then looked up, "Uh, I think I'm going to head home guys. I'm kind of not feeling well right now."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Edward asked, his concern matching everyone else's in the room, well except for Mike of course.

"Yeah, I just think I might be coming down with what Bella and Elli had." He said with a slight smile and placed the letter down onto the coffee table in front of him, "Hopefully it's nothing though. You ready to go Ang?"

Angela patted his knee and stood up, "If you are then yes, I am."

"Alright sorry I'm cutting this short guys." He said and turned to Mike, "Did you want a ride home man?"

"Yes. Can you drop me off at my parent's store?" He asked as he stood up and grabbed his coat.

"Sure." He said and turned to all of us and gave everyone a short wave, "See yah all tomorrow hopefully."

Everyone said either "Ok" or "See yah later" while he headed to the door. Angela ran over quickly and gave me a quick hug before she joined Mike and Brandon at the door and with a quick wave at everyone from Angela, they were gone.

"Wow, poor guy." Emmett said as he plopped back down onto the couch with Rose, "Wonder is he's going to go home and talk to Eli about it."

"I don't know." Alice said with a frown. "I was hoping we could all confront her together."

"Maybe it will be best if Brandon tells her that we all know." Edward said from behind me, "Having all of us confront her at once might scare her off and all's we want to do is get the bottom of things."

"Yeah, I was hoping I could actually talk to her." I said with a sigh, "I was also hoping to be the one to help fix why she might have done it. It all has something to do with me obviously."

"Hmm… Bella might have a point." Rose said as she tapped her manicured nail against her chin.

"Rose! That's not helping any putting the blame on Bella. It's not her fault, whatever reason Eli did it for, it is Eli's fault and her fault alone." Alice said with reasoning.

"I'm not saying that it is Bella's fault. Just hear me out on this." Rose said and Alice raised her brows for her to continue, "Obviously, this does have something to do with Bella, so maybe if Brandon doesn't talk to Eli about it, then I think Bella should be the one to confront her."

"That makes sense." Jasper said and Alice nodded her head in agreement then turned to me, "Do you think you could do that Bella? Try and talk to her alone?"

I nodded my head, "Yeah, I kind of planned on it. But how am I going to be able to talk to her alone? I'm sure she's still mad at me."

"Alright." Alice said, "Well, tomorrow we will hopefully find out from Brandon and if he talked to her and if he didn't, then maybe we could trick her into coming here tomorrow after school. She doesn't know that we are talking to you again since she wasn't at school today so if she goes tomorrow, then we can play it off like we still aren't talking to each other."

"That could work." Rose said.

"Are you kidding me?" Edward asked with a dramatic sigh but I could tell he was doing it to be playful, "I finally got her back and you want me to not say anything to her all day tomorrow?"

"Oh poor baby!" Alice said and rolled her eyes at him, "You can survive a few hours of not talking!"

"He knows." I said and hugged his arms that were wrapped around me, "He's just teasing."

"Well, know that everything is settled and we know what we are going to do about the whole Eli thing, I say we lighten the mood by seeing if Esme would like to order some pizza's and watch some movies if Bella is up for it." Alice said excitedly as she bounced in place.

"I'm up for it." I said with a smile, "Especially the pizza. I finally got my full appetite back and that sounds absolutely amazing right now."

"Awesome!" Alice squealed, "I'll be right back. I'm going to talk to Esme!"

I giggled as I watched Alice prance out of the room. Edward led me over to the couch again where he sat me down. Once I was settled, he wrapped his arms around me and I leaned my head onto his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head as I gave way to a small sigh.

"I hope that's a content sigh." Edward said in my ear.

"Oh it is." I said with a smile. "A very happy and content sigh."

He hugged me closer to him and I felt him rest his cheek on the top of my head. I couldn't help the warm bubbly feeling that I felt every time I was wrapped up in Edward's arms. I felt so content, I almost forgot about the whole Victoria situation and the act we would have to put on for Eli tomorrow.

**AN: Yay! Another one bites the dust! Well, I hope you all liked it and hopefully there weren't too many mistakes. I wanted to get this out to you guys as soon as possible and tomorrow I'll be too busy to post it since I'll be at the Mad T Party watching my fav Dormouse and March Hare perform! What's install for the next chapter you might ask? Well, there will be a confrontation of sorts and Victoria might (and I stress the word _might_) just make an appearance gasp!. Anyway, please let me know what you all thought. I love reading the reviews and hearing what you guys have to say. **


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